


Assassination is Such a Strong Word

by vilnolin



Series: X5REVISED [5]
Category: Dark Angel
Genre: F/M, x5revised
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2010-05-28
Updated: 2010-06-12
Packaged: 2017-11-29 00:27:07
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 8
Words: 21,080
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/680586
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/vilnolin/pseuds/vilnolin
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Max thought she had trouble when Alec's old Manticore unit came to TC. Alec just wants Max in touch with her Transgenic Side.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

>   
>  Warning: The transgenics in general are species-ists. And like their jobs.  
> Disclaimer: I do not own Dark Angel. All original characters belong to me, all rights reserved and all lefts reversed.

            It wasn’t the weather that was getting to her; Washington was always raining, Max had come to terms with that fact a long time ago, back when she was a punk kid, and she and Original Cindy had made the run from LA to here to find some peace and quiet from the gang scene.  No, Max had to admit, there was something more depressing then the weather getting her down. And, glancing at the computer monitor that linked her to Logan (housed safely outside the contaminated area that was Transgenic Central), she had a pretty good idea what it was. It had been well over nine months, and she was beginning to face facts: they hadn’t found a cure yet, and it was looking like the virus bitch was never going down.  
            “I got the paperwork to have your citizenship finalized. Did you want me to fax it to Alec’s office?” Logan asked, eyes on the afore mentioned papers.  
            Max’s eyes flicked up at the mention of her second in command’s name. Logan hadn’t taken her (rather large) lie that Alec was now her…something well. He had taken it even worse when several of Alec’s old Manticore unit, mostly her unit’s twins and other ‘at risk’ X5s turned into the elite of the elite, X5Rs, had shown up. Aside from tossing Max into a head spin ( _There was Brin’s twin, and Tinga’s…_ ),  _these_  transgenics did things  _very_ differently.  First of all, they never even  _looked_  at Logan. The R’s 2IC was most guilty of that; her designation was X5R-105 (they all added the R to their designations, the elitists), and she called herself Keegan. Max hated her instantly.  
            Their commander wasn’t any help either. X5R-496 was a derivative off the 49- cloning line, but they had changed his cocktail up by adding some bear to the panther, creating a bulkier, ebony haired male who looked only in passing like (her) Alec. He went by the rather obnoxious name of Felix MacGyver, and really didn’t seem to act much like a commanding officer at all; he was content to let the unit do what they wanted to. He at least didn’t treat Logan like a piece of furniture.  
            “Max?”  
            Max’s eyes flicked back to the screen, and she offered Logan a half-hearted grin. “Yeah, sure, send it to Alec.”  
            Logan gave her a look. “Are you sure he’s not too busy reminiscing?” He said scathingly.  
            Max sighed. “Yes, thank you.” And she cut the transmission. His bitch fest was getting too much. Flopping down in her chair, she rubbed at her temples. “Damn, this was so much easier a few months ago.”  
            “Wheels giving you a problem?” Speak of the devil. Max turned in her chair just in time to see Alec smack Felix across the arm for that remark, but the taller transgenic was still grinning, not looking the least bit sorry. “I still think I should build him one like Professor Xavier used…”  
            “And it would probably explode, like everything else you build. I don’t think Maxie would like you much after that.” Alec said, taking the seat next to Max, shooting her a wink and leaving the broken one for Felix. Felix eyed it for a moment before smirking and taking a wrench out of his pocket, setting to work on the hapless chair. “Yes! Aha! I  _told_  you, Maxie!”  
            Max rolled her eyes. “What do you two want?”  
            Alec and Felix shared a look, and Max hated Felix on principle. All of them (the X5Rs especially) had this, camaraderie that she never seemed to be able to foster with anyone else but  _her_  unit. A few had become her close friends; but Alec had an entire unit that was not only elitist (Keema, Brin’s twin, had informed her that even Alec bore the designation X5R), he had been their commander.  
            “Uh…I wanted to take you out on a job.” Alec said, not meeting her eyes.  
            There was something about his tone that made it very clear this wasn’t one of their ‘Steal from the Bad Guys’ jobs. “What kind of job?” She asked, trying to keep her voice even.  
            Felix stepped away from the now repaired chair, and snickered, hands raised. “As much as I have your back, Alec, I am  _not_  getting in the middle of this. I’m gonna go find my mate. You two kids play nice.”  
            Max ignored him. “Alec.”  
            Alec turned back to her, putting on a face that spoke of resentment. “A job. A regular…” He mumbled something. “Job.”  
            “Can you try it without mumbling?”  
            Alec was an amazing actor, Max had seen him work his whiles on everyone from women to Normal, and come out with whatever he wanted. But when it came to her, he always seemed to fall short. “The X5Rs are still working assassinations for the government—Max, come on, don’t give me that look! Just listen!” She rolled her eyes back to him, torn between smacking him upside the head and just walking out, when he gave her that pout. She’d never admit it, but that pout always got to her. “Thank you! Ok, look, we’re getting paid, and it’s-”  
            “ _We’re_?!” Alec nearly fell out of his seat. Max suspected she would have too, if someone had said that in that tone, to her. But the fact remained, “Don’t give me  _that_  look, Alec McDowell, you said  _we_.”  
            “I’m an X5! It’s what we do!” He said, though his case for  _assassinating_  people was made a little weak considering he was hiding behind his chair.  
            “I’m trying to tell the world we’re not a threat!”  
            “And we’re not!” Alec insisted, dodging to the other side of the chair as she came around to get him. “We’re taking out the bad guys! Cult leaders, terrorist groups, military governments—not our own, mind you—OW!”   
            Max grabbed him firmly by the ear and dragged him out from behind the desk. “No. And I’m not having my second in command go out on  _assassinations_  behind my back!”  
            To her surprise, Alec reversed the hold on her, pulling out of her grip, and forcing her hand up behind her own back. “Max, I think you’ve got a lot to learn about us as a people and species before you start making demands like that.” He leaned in, and  _was he scenting her neck?!_  Max tried not to shudder, but by the low chuckle in his throat, Alec noticed anyway. “Warehouse, twenty three hundred hours, tomorrow.” He whispered in her ear, pressing himself against her.   
            “And if I don’t show?” She snarled, trying to buck him off her.  
            She was surprised when he gently bit the side of her neck, pressing up on her arm to cause a spark of pain, all the while pressing closer. “You’ll just have to if you want to stop us. Ahem,  _me_.” He pulled away then, dropping her arm, and slipping out of the main office with nary a sound.  
            Max was left leaning over her desk, wet, aroused, and wondering what the hell else went on in Transgenic Central since those damned X5Rs came home to roost.


	2. Chapter 2

            Max found herself wandering aimlessly after the rather bizarre encounter with Alec back at headquarters; she had no clear direction to tell her feet to take her because she found her mind circling back to times before Terminal City had been renamed Transgenic Central, back when she was a bike messenger and her idea of a hard day was trying to compete with Normal’s ‘Golden Boy’ on getting deliveries done.  
            Not that it was easy then either, she reminded herself, sidestepping a DAC pushing a wheel barrel full of various computer equipment bound for Dix on one of the sublevels of HQ; back then Alec wasn’t in the loop about the whole ‘fake boyfriend’ deal, and every Eyes Only mission that he helped on was a ticking time bomb.  
 _It wasn’t all bad_ , a little voice in the back of her head piped in. Max frowned to herself, giving her head a shake, as if it would clear the annoying whisper away. It didn’t.  _Alec always answered your call when you needed him…_ Unbidden, the image of the said male, shirtless, sweaty, and staring at her with those damned cat-green eyes flashed in front of her retinas. Instantaneously, she felt her pulse quicken, and her breath catch.  
            “Not now.” She hissed to herself, detouring down an alley, desperate to make it to her small apartment before the rest of that night came crashing back with crushing clarity. She closed her eyes, trying to will the images away. There was Alec, naked and above her, nuzzling her neck—She very nearly blurred the rest of the way to her apartment. She didn’t stop until the door was bolted behind her. Only then did she slump against the door and let the memories of one of the best nights of her life flood back.  


  
***

  
            The day had started off like any other, especially since Logan was now paging her only ten times daily instead of the usual thirty. She told herself it was what she wanted, it was for the best since he had made his own assumptions after seeing Alec at her apartment, but she hadn’t counted on it  _hurting_  so much.  
            “You’re late, Missy-miss.” Normal called, not looking up from his clip board. “And no riding the bikes indoors.”  
            Max ignored him, heading straight to her locker, and, hopefully, for some girl chat with Cindy before her first run. She wasn’t expecting to be yanked off her seat, bike clattering to the floor, and pulled off to the side of the lockers—all too quickly for  _her_  to react. “Hey! What’s-”  
            “You got a rape wish or something, Maxie?” Alec’s voice was deep, husky, and he was pressed  _way_  too close to her for it to be considered ‘casual’.   
            Max tried to shake off his grip, but his fingers were probably leaving an Alec shaped handprint on her arm. Strangely, the thought sent a tingle straight down to her core. “What the fuck are you talking about? Get off me!” She shoved him.  
            Normally, Alec would have moved, and made some smart-ass comment about her damaging his perfectly engineered good looks. Today, he pinned her with a look that made her feel like a gazelle caught by a panther. “Maybe you didn’t notice, it being so _hot_  and all.” He leaned in, looking both like he was fighting the urge and compelled to do so at the same time. “I can scent it all over you.”  
            Max struggled to back up, but there was a wall behind her, and Alec in front of her, and not an inch of space to move between. “So I got a new body spray-”  
            Alec’s chuckle wasn’t nice. “And you call  _me_  dense. Heat, Maxie. You’re in heat.”  
            She could feel the color drain from her face as Alec lost the internal battle and leaned ever so slightly in, scenting her with his mouth slightly open, his nose scant centimeters from her neck. “I-I can’t be. Manticore fixed that.”  
            Alec pulled back and fixed her with a stare that made her feel  _very_  stupid. And Max didn’t like feeling stupid. “For as long as you’re on their lovely medication regimen, sure. But you burned them down.” He paused. “If I wasn’t so fucking horny, I’m sure that would have been a  _great_  joke.”  
            This time, when Max shoved him back, he went back, but only a step or two. “ _You’re_ horny?”  
            “Hey, you didn’t even know you were in heat yet.” Alec said, cocking an eyebrow and adjusting himself not so subtly. “And yes,  _I_  am.” He cocked his head to the side. “Oh come on, Max, how could you not know what happens to X5 males around females in heat?” She shifted uncomfortably. “Did you never take one of your ‘brothers’ for a test drive? I mean, come on, 493 had to have been a looker.”  
            Max was never one for slapping. Which was probably why Alec looked so flabbergasted when her palm struck his cheek. “Don’t you  _ever_  suggest that  _again_.”  
            Instead of making him back off, something shifted in his eyes. Max almost wished she had more space to back up. She was finally starting to sweat, and that tingle in her lower stomach was reacting to the shift in his eyes. Alec wasn’t looking at her like a man who wanted to have sex with her; he was looking at her like a predator, an animal looking to mate. “You’re coming with me.” He growled, grabbing her wrist, and practically dragging her towards the entrance. She tried to drag her heels, but Alec just tugged and she nearly fell on her face giving her the option of either following or being dragged; she never knew he was  _that_  strong.  
            Watching him say something to Normal (who didn’t even question his Golden Boy’s request, though he gave a sidelong glance to Max), she also noticed that Alec was a lot _bigger_  than she gave him credit for. Yes, height wise, he was tall, but musculature wise, he was deceptively well built. The ease in which he was dragging her around Jam Pony was certainly making her question every fight she had ‘won’. She was starting to think he hadn’t really been trying. The thought made her get very damp. She shifted her stance, and suddenly, Alec’s eyes were on her again, his nose twitching. “What?” She demanded, defensive. “You really think I’m gonna let you drag me off to god knows where and do-” He cut her off by shoving her hard against the brick wall out front. Max stared up at him.  
            Alec’s pupils did the opposite of what every male she had ever seen under the thrall of lust do; they constricted to something that was positively cat-slit. “Max, do yourself a favor and just shut up for once.”  
            The growl in his voice was  _so_  working for her. “Ok.”  
            To her surprise, his body backed up the previous shove, pressing her fully against the brick. “I said, ‘shut up’,” He punctuated his point with a kiss that left no room for argument. Max felt herself sink into it, reveling in the feeling of his lips, his tongue battling against hers, his teeth catching her bottom lip before he pulled away, “And I meant it.”  
            She made sure she stayed quiet as he pulled her to where he parked his motorcycle for the work day. However, the ride to his place ( _His place?!_  the rational side of her mind had argued.  _Shut up._  every other side of her mind had countered), was nearly tortuous. By now, her heat was fully on her, and she  _wanted_  him. Bad.  
            As she gripped around his waist, every muscle screamed  _Alpha breeding_ , and the feline in her was already purring at the prospect. She couldn’t keep her hands off him; they had wandered all over him, mapping his body over his clothes and she was pretty sure he had been encouraging this with actual purring of his own, but it had been hard to tell over the roar of the engine and the thrum of the bike itself.  
            But if she wanted validation, Max just needed to wait until they reached Alec’s apartment. Alec parked the bike with more torque then strictly necessary, and didn’t even wait for her to dismount; he scooped her into his arms and took the stairs from the garage three at a time.  
            She had paused for a moment inside the apartment, trying to remember  _when_  she had actually  _agreed_  to this entire thing, but that was when she registered the sound of the bedroom door slamming. That sound, so out of place in this almost risqué fantasy, snapped her out of her lust delirium. “Alec?” Her voice was quavering. She kind of hoped he didn’t notice.  
            “The door is triple locked! Get yourself a cold shower and pop a couple of the horse tranqs in the medicine cabinet!” If Max had thought  _her_  voice had sounded quavering, Alec’s sounded down right broken.   
            She took a step closer to his bedroom, only to hear him scuttle away from it, knocking over a lamp, by the sound of it. “Alec, what the fuck are you doing?”  
            “You’re going to have every X5 male in Seattle humping your leg if you don’t lock yourself up and knock yourself out! Now  _get in the fucking shower_!” She didn’t think his voice could get that high.  
            However, there was another question on her mind. “Why do you have horse tranquilizers?”  
            His bedroom door opened after several locks were thrown. Alec appeared in the tiny crack, looking pained. Max bit her lip; he looked absolutely fuckable right then. “Maxie, I’m begging you.  _Please_  go wash some of the pheromones off so I’m not one of the ones _trying_  to hump your leg?”  
            She smiled at him. “What if I want you to be?”  
            The double take he gave her was almost as priceless as his slip and fall in his haste to make it out of his bedroom.  
            He tackled her, and she hit the ground hard, but it didn’t matter; his lips were on hers, his hands working their way under her tank top, clever fingers quickly finding their way to her bra clasp and undoing it. She bucked under him, grinding her hips against his. He growled against her mouth. “No,” he made a noise somewhere between a moan and a purr, “no hating me tomorrow.”  
            “No hating you tomorrow.” She agreed, licking down his neck before sucking at the point where it met his shoulder.  
            There was no mistaking his snarl, and he sat up over her, pinning her down with his legs as he slid his shirt off, shucking the gloves he wore to work off as well. He bent back over her, hands at the collar of her shirt, and tore it open down the middle. When he grinned at her, she almost thought she saw a hint of fang. “Sorry.” He said.           
            “No you’re not.” She countered, her hands already at work on his fly.  
            “No, I’m not.” He moved down to her pants, scooting out of her reach. “You better be ready, Maxie.” He said, his eyes nearly glowing in the light. If she hadn’t been soaked before, she certainly was now. And the eeriest thing was, though she had suspected it before, when Alec’s nose twitched, and his eyes got that _look_  again; she  _knew_  he could smell when she got aroused. And that got her  _more_  turned on. The whole thing was turning into a vicious cycle. Her pants went a similar way as her shirt.  
            Left only in her panties with her bra not even done (and Alec with only his pants undone), Max felt very exposed. But Alec was already moving to remedy that fact; she noticed  _his_ pants ended up fine, halfheartedly folded and tossed aside, his boxers right behind them.  
            Max decided this was going a little slow for her taste, and started shimmying out of her panties; all the while, Alec’s eyes followed her. The very second she was done, his hands were pulling the bra from her, and he was pushing her back to the floor, biting at her neck, hand between her legs.  
            Her eyes went wide as he pressed  _just there_ , making her buck against him. The brush against his cock sent chills to the deepest parts of her, and combined with his fingers, she was pretty sure there would be a soaked spot on the carpet. Alec made a noise against her neck, nipping a little harder before releasing the hold and licking the spot, his tongue rough, more like a cat’s then a human’s. Funny, because when he kissed her, it felt normal…  
            “A little one sided, eh, Max?” He murmured, rubbing his thumb over her clit. “Or am I just that distracting?”  
            That was Alec, annoying even during  _sex_. Max offered him her most seductive smile, and grasped the base of his cock, causing his almost girlie eyelashes to flutter. “Shut up.” She said, kissing his jaw. She could feel the rumble from his growl, and knew he was done teasing. He pushed her hand out of the way, positioning himself over her entrance, and rubbed himself against her for a moment.  
            Max bucked against him, all primal need. She wanted him  _now_. And Alec  _knew_. He thrust into her, and she cried out with a sound that was more feline then human. He locked eyes with her (she never noticed how cat-like his eyes were), and she whispered “More, Alec!”. And for the first time in her sex-life, someone actually answered. He thrust his hip, the head of his cock hitting  _right there, yes right there_ , and Max was orgasming, riding high and biting into his shoulder to keep from screaming out his name.  
            Barely five minutes later (and it was barely, because she was still riding that wave, she never wanted it to  _stop!_ ), Alec cried out, his hips stuttering, and her pulled her so close to him she could feel his pulse where their bodies met.  
            It got awkward after that.  


***

  
  
            Max remembered waking up after that amazing sex to find Alec attempting to make some sort of breakfast. She hadn’t been the nicest to him, and he had attempted to find her clothing (a t-shirt of his that she still had, and a pair of jeans a girl had left at his place once), which had only made her feel worse, and she had ended the entire encounter with some choice words, and a kiss that left him stunned and speechless in his own doorway.  
            She had thought of doing something about that strange little spark they had, but between Logan and the transgenic cause, she had no time to think. And then the Jam Pony Siege had happened. Max put a lot of shit on Alec, she knew that now. She knew she could depend on him, he was her second in command, and was always there when she needed him…  
 _Stop it. Thinking like that won’t stop him from running off tomorrow._  Max knew Alec’s Manticore history, she knew he had been designed for empathy, manipulation and social skills. She forced her thoughts to the night he wasn’t there, the night she nearly lost Logan, and ended up having to bail  _X5R-494_ ’s sorry ass out of jail. If she was completely honest with herself, she had long forgiven him for that; it hadn’t been his fault, and he had been devastated (alright, not  _devastated_ , but certainly remorseful) that he couldn’t help out. And she had bitched him out for killing in cold blood.  
            Exactly like he was going to do tomorrow.  
            Max shook her head again. No, he wouldn’t be doing that. She was going to stop him. Hell, she was going to put a stop to all of this.


	3. Chapter 3

  
            By dawn the next morning, Max knew there was no way she was waiting until twenty three hundred that night to put an end to this madness. For one thing, she had been unable to even have one moment of peace without worrying what else might have been going on without her knowledge. And when she had attempted to catch an hour of sleep, she just lay there, unable to quiet her mind. She managed to hold off until a reasonable time—09 00—and headed towards the medical supply turned apartment complex that the X5Rs had been assigned to. On her way, she passed Krit’s twin (who watched her wearily in a way that made her rather uncomfortable) and she fought not to shudder. Being around so many that looked  _just like_  her unit, but so clearly  _weren’t_ ; it was so unsettling.   
            As she entered the main hall, she realized she probably should have looked up their room assignments and for a long moment, she was debating if knocking on  _every_  door was a viable option. Then she smelled it.  
 _No…there’s no way…_  She thought, wrinkling her nose at the skunk-like smell. But, the smell was soon followed by the sound of a hacking cough, and that pretty much confirmed her suspicion. Especially when an all-too familiar voice giggled, “That came out your nose!”  
            Max stormed towards ‘apartment’ 1D, rapping on the door hard enough to dent the reinforced wood. To her growing annoyance, a  _female_  voice responded, “Hold one second!” before throwing the locks, and easing the door open.   
            Max found herself face to face with none other than the second in command of the X5Rs, Keegan.  _She_  didn’t look nearly as surprised to see Max there, and offered her a smile that may or may not have been mocking before leaning against the door frame. Her shifted position allowed Max to see past her into the small apartment, enough to note Alec lounging on the duct-taped couch, waving a hand in front of his face to keep the smoke that permeated the room out of his personal space. He gave a little smile when he saw her. “Hey, Maxie.”  
            “I was just getting to that.” Keegan said, crossing her arms. “What's up, ma’am?”  
            It was the mock title of respect that was the last straw for Max. “Can I come in, thank you.” She said, pushing past Keegan. For a moment, she thought the Native American transgenic was going to take a swing at her, and Max would have surely welcomed it.  
            But apparently X5R-105 was smarter than that. Instead, she just rolled her eyes, and with a sarcastic, “Well, come right in,” shut the door behind Max.  
            Max stood in the small hallway between the couch and the door, and alternated her gaze between the two transgenics. “Were you two  _seriously_  smoking  _pot_  at  _nine in the morning_?”  
            The way Alec and Keegan shared a look only served to piss her off more; they were at ease with each other in a way that made her hair stand on end. “Well…” Alec started.  
            “Just answer the question!” Max snapped. Alec looked surprisingly hurt by her tone.  
            “Yes.” Keegan said, falling into the military ‘at ease’ stance. She even threw on a “Ma’am.”  
            Max whirled on Alec. “What the fuck are you thinking? Drugs? Seriously?” Alec made to open his mouth, but she cut him off, “And I’m not even surprised to find you here, with _her_ -” At that, Keegan made a noise that may have been a muffled laugh, but Max was too hurt, too betrayed at this side of Alec which she had always accused him of, but had finally convinced herself wasn’t  _really_  him…   
            “Maxie-”  
            “ _Don’t call me ‘Maxie’!_ ”  
            “Hey,” Keegan said, placing a hand on Max’s shoulder. “I think we all need to calm down, because there are some serious-”  
            All Max saw was the bitch who had spent the night with (her) Alec touching her. She grabbed Keegan’s hand and flipped her over her shoulder. Keegan—by either that training she bragged about or sheer luck—managed to land on her feet and locked both hands on where Max had grabbed hers, reversing the lock and pulling Max’s arm to hyperextension, forcing Max to her knees. But Max fought dirty, and obviously Keegan wasn’t expecting her to sink her nails into her forearm, while locking her legs around Keegan’s. Keegan gave a yelp and started to fall.  
            “Shit! Felix! Get in here! It’s a chick fight!” Max heard Alec yell. Max’s back hit the couch, and she had managed to get Keegan’s arm up behind her back, when suddenly  _Max_  was getting lifted by her throat, and shoved against a wall. “That’s not what I meant!” Alec was yelling.  
            When Max was able to focus her eyes, she was pretty sure it was Alec in front of her too. That is, until she was able to  _hear_  the growl ( _This guy sounds like a pissed off black bear, that or a really confused panther_ ), and catch the brown ( _Brown?_ ), eyes staring her down, through black hair tussled around. “Felix.” She gasped out.  
            “Felix! Put her down!” That was from Keegan, who was off the floor and tugging on his arm with a worried expression. She looked pitifully short next to them. Max gave her feet an experimental kick, and realized she was being held nearly two feet off the floor.  
            After a long moment, Felix ever so slowly lowered Max down. Then, looking to Alec, he growled, “Keep your  _fake_  little transgenic away from my  _mate_. I’m not having these fucking  _human_  jealousy squabbles because she can’t use her fucking  _nose_.”   
            Alec gave Felix the old ‘smile and nod’. “Of course. You’re right. Right, Maxie?”  
            Max just nodded, not trusting herself to speak. Felix gave her a hard look before nodding back. “Sorry about that. You know us X5s.” He seemed to think that was explanation enough, moving to nuzzle Keegan’s hair.   
            However, Alec apparently had to open his mouth; “She’s only dated humans.”   
            Max felt herself go red. “Thanks Alec.” It wasn’t as if she cared what these stupid elitists thought of her, but  _he_  had to go blab everything.  
            Again, Keegan reached out, this time, clasping her hand. Max stared at it for a second, before looking up at the female she had just basically attacked. Keegan was giving her a small smile. “It kinda explains a lot. You’re an 09er. How are you supposed to know pack structure, or how we all go about choosing mates?”  
            “You make it sound like we’re animals.” Max said, pulling her hand back. “We’re not.”  
            “We are.” Alec said, pushing himself to his feet. “Well, partially. Now, some quick clarifications. One, obviously, I was  _not_  here with just Keegan.” Max felt herself blush again. “Two, I wasn’t smoking either. Not to say that other people weren’t…” he was looking specifically towards Felix, who was looking determinedly nonchalant.  
            “Ah, that’s cause you’ve got to actually work tonight. We’re just back up. By the way, you  _did_  pack snacks, right?” Felix asked, settling on the couch. Keegan hesitated a moment, casting a glance towards Max before venturing closer to the couch (and Alec).  
            Alec shot him a look. “Guys. If you ever want to explain exactly how a transgenic works to Max, you’ve got to start taking yourselves more seriously.”  
            Keegan smirked. “I thought that was  _your_  job, pretty boy.”  
            Alec flicked what appeared to be a french fry at her. “You guys came here at my request. And all you’ve done so far is make yourselves look like a bunch of species-ist stoners.” Max thought he made a  _very_  good point.  
            However, Felix apparently didn’t. “I hate to point this out but, for the most part dude, we  _are_.” He punctuated this fact, by picking up a joint he had on the table and lighting it, taking a drag before passing it to Keegan. Exhaling, he said, “I mean, I like humans, for the most part.” Next to him, Keegan made a scathing noise while exhaling her own hit, “But I know why the rest of us don’t. You got the same training as the rest of us, Alec; ‘X5s are the pinnacle of genetic perfection’, ‘Humans are Prey’, ‘You are genetically superior’.” He dropped the mocking voice. “I mean, it was practically Neo-Nazi-ism for the test-tube grown. And on top of the hunts they used to send us on…” Max felt a chill as Felix pinned her with his gaze. “If you think your life was tough back in 09, be glad you weren’t there when they used to pump us up and send us out individually on inmate hunts. They trained the animal as much as the soldier later on.”  
            Her mind flashed back to the unit hunts, when they had psyched the bloodlust in them as children and then set them on hapless inmates. And then Manticore had done it to them individually? “Without weapons.” Alec said, answering her unspoken question. When her eyes met his, there was a darkness there she had only seen in passing ( _maybe because you didn’t want to see it…_ ). “I can’t say it was the best hunt ever…”  
            “Too easy.” Felix said, but Max had heard  _enough_.  
            “Do you guys  _realize_  what you’re  _talking_  about?!” She asked, her knees quivering under her. She gripped the wall for support.  
            Keegan apparently lost the small amount of sympathy she had garnered for her. “Uh, yeah. Hunting human inmates down and killing them by hand back at Manticore. Would you like a diagram?” Both Felix and Alec elbowed her, and Keegan pouted.  
            Max sagged to the floor, noting that (ironically) there was a beanbag chair barely a foot away. “They’re  _people_.” She gasped out at last.  
            Alec pushed himself off from the couch, and came to her, not putting an arm around her for comfort, put forcing her to look into his eyes. Max caught Felix and Keegan sharing a meaningful look behind him, but Alec snapped his fingers, forcing her to look back at him.  “Max,” He said, keeping his voice calm and even in a way that reminded her oddly of Mia, “You  _do_  remember the fact that every transgenic but your thirteen 09ers got a decade more psychological and specialized training right? That includes the ability to rationalize  _Us_ ,” He gestured to those in the small room, “and  _Them_.” He gestured towards the small window, and Max figured, to everyone outside Transgenic Central. “And how to figure out that taking care of Us means taking out Them cause, hey, killing’s what we were literally  _designed_  to do.” He made her look at him again. “Max, we had  _years_  of de-sensitivity training…but even before that we realized we  _liked_  hunting. You can’t tell me that, when you’re planning a heist, the entire time you’re not just  _wishing_  it wasn’t paper, or film, or rock you were stalking.” He finished with a hopeful smile, searching her eyes.  
            But the words struck like a knife, and Max yanked her chin out of her grip. “Do you even realize how  _sick_  that sounds?”  
            “Hey now, let’s stay civil here,” Felix mumbled.   
            Max shot a glare in his direction. “You lost your civil rights when you assaulted me.”  
            To her growing annoyance, Felix snickered at her. “‘ _Civil rights_ ’. Heh. That was kinda good.”  
            She rolled her eyes. “God. But seriously, Alec,” She said, looking back to him, “You sound like a fucking  _serial killer_.”  
            To her surprise, Alec raised his chin slightly, almost defiantly. “Yeah? I think you have me confused with  _someone else_.” A muscle was going in his jaw. “I’m following orders, and doing a job which I happen to excel at and  _enjoy_. I’ll let you know  _what_  I kill for pleasure.” He blurred standing up, leaving the apartment quicker than his usual stroll.  
 _I’ll let you know what I kill for pleasure._  The words were just…wrong, and so  _not Alec_  that Max was having a hard time wrapping her head around them. And before she could, she felt eyes on her, and then remembered that she wasn’t alone.  
            “Well, that was well done.” Keegan announced, standing up from the couch. “If you’re gonna lead our people, you’re gonna have to know us for what we are. That whole ‘proud to be a freak’ thing you were going on about.” With that, she started for the other small hallway.  
            Max sighed. “I’m just…not doing any of this  _right_ , am I?” She let herself fall back onto the beanbag that was just so embarrassingly close anyway.   
            To her surprise, Felix slid to the floor, leaning back against the couch to be on a more even plane. “What’s ‘right’? I mean, we have the system we developed back in Manticore, but we had ten years to perfect it under constant scrutiny from some guards who really had no idea just how capable we really were. See, that was the first thing we realized as a whole after your escape; we can’t let them know exactly what we are, exactly what we can do.”  
            Max raised her eyebrows. “How did you get this message out? Especially with all those guards?”  
            Felix gave her a smile that revealed several elongated fangs. “Oh goody, Peanut. It’s story time. Well, after the escape, all the units deemed most ‘at risk’ for similar behavior were sent into reindoctrination and simplification for six months—yeah, six fucking months. That’s us, the X5Rs; every twin of your unit, and every unit like me, who showed a little…er…individuality. The Pulse happened, and we had one blissful day where we were free in those horrible months, and, on an obstacle course, got the status of the other Xs. The second they got confirmation of what we were going through, everyone dumbed themselves down, slowed themselves down, missed more…you get the picture. We basically turned ourselves into really good X6s, heh.” He winked at her, but she really didn’t find it funny. He shrugged. “We got out, and got assigned to special training because they figured we were the most brainwashed and we still managed to outscore everyone even while adding a full minute to our times. Deck—Lydecker—didn’t want us doing solo missions, so he only sent a few of us to Quantico; Lane who was twinned from your 599…Zack?, Jewel and heh, you. Well, Sam. The rest of us were sent on solo mission around here, Alec always got the top assignments, lucky fucking dog. Till Berrisford.” A dark look came over Felix’s face. “Anyway, did you ever notice how rough your tongue is? It’s a stoned-off-my-ass kinda question, I know, but seriously…lick your arm.” He smiled at her, and got up towards the kitchen.  
            Max took that as her cue to leave.   
            When she got back to her apartment (she had tried Alec’s, but had gotten no response), feeling confused, lost, and generally like shit, she had the most random idea. “God, I can’t believe I’m doing this.” She muttered, rolling up her sleeve.  
            Hesitantly, she stuck out her tongue and, once again pausing, licked her forearm. To her surprise, the first thought that crossed her mind was  _That felt like Alec’s_ …, and she attempted to get a look at her tongue until going cross-eyed hurt too much, and she realized a mirror would be a much better option.  _Oh, if that bastard gave me some transgenic STD…_  
            But her tongue looked normal, reddish pink and kind of pebbly. Her mind again flashed back to her last heat, and Alec licking at her neck; how his tongue had felt like a cat’s. _Like a **feline’s**_ … She had feline DNA just like him, how could she not have noticed that her tongue felt like this? She laughed a little at that thought, because she didn’t make a habit of licking herself, but she would have thought  _someone_  would have told her.  
            The only person she had kissed more than once was Logan. And she could just hear his answer now; “I thought that was how all transgenics’ tongues were supposed to feel. I didn’t want to bring it up, I’m sorry.”  
            Max stared at her reflection for a long time, taking in her eyes (when the light got to bright, they did the cat-slit thing too), her ears (if she snapped, they shifted towards the sound a little, which she was sure human ears didn’t do), her teeth (her canines were just a little sharper then all her other teeth)… So many little things that gave her away besides her barcode…besides her body temperature.  
            Part of her wondered how she could have missed them; had she blinded herself to the tells because she wanted to be human so badly?


	4. Chapter 4

            Max spent the better part of the day looking around for Alec; starting quite logically at Headquarters. However, when Dalton informed her that her second in command had  _not only_  given everyone their daily assignments  _but also_  completed their citizenship paperwork and the rest of the odds and ends she had left on his desk the previous day, she felt at a loss. She had been sure he would have been here, pencil pushing…  
 _We can’t let them know exactly what we are, exactly what we can do._ Felix’s words suddenly flashed through her mind. They left her uneasy, especially if her gut was trying to tell her what she thought it might be. But…that  _couldn’t_  be it. How would  _Alec_  be treating her like a Manticore handler from his soldier hay days?  
            “Uh, hey, Max?” She looked up, surprised to see Dalton still standing in front of her. He gave her a sheepish smile. “He may have been heading out to the drill yard. That’s where he spends a lot of time nowadays.” Max couldn’t remember if she had thanked the X6 or not, but that sent her running towards the one place she avoided more than any other.  
            The drill yard was converted out of a car-park behind the X8 housing, complete with obstacle courses, a wall climb and sparring mats. Max had adamantly vetoed the idea of something so Manticore in the place where they were trying to make their stand as a fledgling society, but Alec had argued that the X8s especially needed to know what their bodies were capable of, and the rest of them needed to stay in shape. Quite obviously, he had won. And walking amongst the small kids blurring around the equipment as if it was a playground, she knew he had been right. Around the sparring mats, Several X5s and X6s were watching the X8s, a few nodding to Max in greeting. It didn’t take long to realize that Alec wasn’t here, either.  
            “You looking for Alec?” The way Syl said his name made Max pause for a second, especially at the knowing look on her sister’s face. “He was here for the morning sparring lesson, critiqued the hell outta Krit.” Krit frowned, making a face. Syl winked at him, continuing on, “He said he’s going out with his unit tonight though. They’re probably getting ready. Why are  _you_  so interested, little sis?” She finished, waggling her eyebrows.  
            Max left with a huff, ignoring the snickers from both of her unit siblings. She couldn’t help but glance back at them, noticing that the two of them were holding hands. While she had a hard time separating the two in her mind (Krit and Syl and always been inseparable, even back at Manticore), it seemed…different now. And certainly odd that they were watching a bunch of younger transgenics, especially of their own volition. Coupled with the fact they had  _actually_  been at the morning sparring lessons…a strange inkling was tickling the edge of her consciousness.  
            Well, Brin was there every morning, but ever since she had been recaptured by Manticore, she was more of a pain in the ass then Alec about being a ‘good soldier’. In the back of her mind, Max started to wonder if this  _Reindoctrination_  was what was really to blame. She had only been under that laser a handful of times, and of them, they hadn’t been able to do anything but make her forget the entire session (an entirely pointless endeavor, if she had anything to say about it).  _But Sandeman designed me different. Maybe…No._  She told herself firmly.  _I’m supposed to be finding how we’re all **the same**_.  
            Which was why she found herself back at the X5R’s housing, knocking on Apartment 1D.  
            This time Felix answered the door, his wet hair falling into his eyes. He was naked from the waist up, a towel draped over his hips, and his torso was tarnished with fine, pale scars. Max realized she was staring when he cleared his throat, and gave her a slightly bored look. “So, is your tongue rough?”  
            Max scoffed. “Is that, like, the secret password? Yes, it is.” She paused. “I never noticed it before.”  
            At that, Felix smiled rather mischievously, pulling the door open to allow her in. “Well, I would think not. If you had started licking yourself back at Manticore, they would’ve thought they bred the wrong part of the feline into you. Basement case. Here, it’s just hilarious that I got you to do that.”  
            “Oh, thanks.” Max rolled her eyes. “Seriously, though, Felix,” He glanced back at her, eyebrows raised, and she couldn’t remember him looking any more different then Alec, “I thought they designed us to be…”  
            “Human? Human-looking?” Felix supplied. Max nodded. After a long moment, Felix heaved a big sigh and gestured towards the couch. “Have a seat, Peanut. And give me a sec to slip into something less comfortable.”  
            Max nodded, and Felix slipped down the small hall she had seen them disappear through previously. Less than a minute later, Felix reappeared in a pair of black BDU pants and matching t-shirt, followed closely by Keegan dressed much the same, but carrying three bottles of Yuengling. Dropping onto the beanbag, she tossed one to Felix before handing one over to Max, saying “You’re gonna need it.”  
            Max stared at her for a second. “Were you here the whole time?”  
            Keegan gave her a wan smile. “I was specialized in infiltration and retrieval. You usually won’t hear me.”  
            Max looked between her, and Felix, who flopped down onto the couch making as much noise as he possibly could. “And you blow things up.”  
            Felix shrugged. “Hey, I make sure you  _definitely_  can’t hear her. It works. But, we digress.” He fixed her with another of his looks. “You were asking me what we were designed to be. Are you sure you want to know? Cause you gave Alec a hard time of it earlier, and we don’t put up with nearly as much shit.”  
            Did she want to know? These were her people. Part of her wanted to say that this group was just dysfunctional, warped and fucked up. But this was apparently the unit that every other at Manticore looked to as their gold standard. And if everyone else was just following her lead because she told them to, whom else but they were going to let her know who her people really were? “I need to know.”  
            Again, Felix shrugged. “Whatever, you’re the boss. We were designed to be the perfect soldier, superior killing machines able to take out ten to twenty more attackers then ourselves without breaking a sweat. Supposed to save lives, cut casualties.” He made a scathing noise. “Killed more of us on live-fire training then actual missions. You know how fast we heal…” He made a vague gesture towards his chest. “Sometimes, wounds are too deep, or shrapnel just tears in a nasty way and even our healing can’t hide the fact it happened. Oh well, that’s war. The other side doesn’t look nearly as pretty.” He gave a grim smile. “They wanted to make us something that, well, they couldn’t. We’re hybrids created for the field; all of us saw combat, all of us took damage out there. Max, stop flinching. If you don’t know what they designed us  _for_  then you can’t understand why you don’t look quite as human as you thought.” His voice was calm, and it made her unclench a little.  
            Max frowned to herself. “I’m…sorry. Please,” She made a continue gesture.  
            “I guess I’ll start with the tongue, since that’s what started all this self examination.” Felix said, sticking his out. “Me? I’m designed for tracking. Hence the black bear in my cocktail; I can scent a mark ten miles out. What’s this got to do with our tongues you ask? Well, we couldn’t have all human tongues, else we would have a human sense of smell…which would be worthless.” Max stared at him blankly. Felix rolled his eyes. “You actually smell with your taste buds, Max. It’s why the roof of your mouth opens into your nasal cavity. If they wanted us to have a human looking face, we needed a feline tongue, get it? Else we’d all have snouts to do the same job.” He gave her a hard look. “You do scent things, right Max?”  
            Max looked away, unsure exactly why she was embarrassed. “I know my nose is more sensitive than, say, Original Cindy’s, especially if she showered in perfume that…” She trailed off, watching Felix shake his head sadly.  
            “See, this is what I’m talking about. Had you been in Manticore, they would have trained you to scent a room first—fuck, you’d even know how many people are in there, about how old they are, and what health condition they’re in. I can tell you their emotional state, but I was  _designed_  for my nose. Alec can too, but for completely different reasons—don’t even ask me, he’ll tell you if he wants to.” Felix said, holding up a hand to stave off her question. “For instance, earlier, you would have known instantly that Alec hadn’t been with Keegan. Can give you two reasons by scent alone. One, while they have the same pack smell, there was he had none of her scent on him. And two, which  _I_  think is the biggest,” Keegan was nodding in agreement, “mates  _always_  smell like each other. It’s how other transgenics know to back off.” He gave her a small smile. “And how we usually prevent fights. You can tell a lot about a person by their scent.”  
            “Oh.” Max said, her voice small. “And you just…know?”  
            “Become more aware of it, is probably the case with you.” Felix took a swig of his beer. “Your nose twitches a lot, so I’m guessing you still got the instincts, you’re brain just hasn’t caught on yet.”  
            Max couldn’t help but cover her nose, causing both Felix and Keegan to laugh. Frowning, she moved on to her next discovery. “What about my eyes? That’s new; the pupils went cat-slit in bright light.”  
            “The iris constriction is part of the hack and slash job they did when they gave us the ability to telescope our vision.” Keegan interjected. “Human lenses don’t mix well with that sort of DNA manipulation, so they had to use the feline part. But it gave us night vision too, which they never learned about.” She then gave Max another look. “And seriously, how often are you looking at your eyes while shining lights into them?” Yet another valid point.  
            They both looked expectantly at Max, as if waiting to see what else she had discovered. Hesitantly, she said, “My teeth-”  
            “That’s nothing.” Felix said, baring his own. And it was true; more of his teeth were pointed then hers. “It depends on diet, and how much of your animal you got in your cocktail. Did you notice your ears?”  
            “They move.” Max said putting a hand up to her own as Felix snapped his fingers next to it, causing it to shift. “And stop that, it feels weird. But all you’ve told me is it’s because Manticore wanted perfect killers.”  
            “And they got them.” Felix said with a dark certainty. “Those are just the things you can see on the outside, Peanut. But what about the things you can  _do_. Did you ever ask yourself  _why_  a panther can leap nine feet in the air and carry prey twice their weight?” Max shook her head. To her surprise, Felix’s eyes shifted towards Keegan. “For their mate. Manticore wanted us to have these advantages—due to our body structure, we tend to have a bit more than your average panther, mind you—but we also got a side effect from  _human_  evolution; monogamy.” He laughed, turning his attention back to Max. “We got all these impressive powers used usually in nature to get the best mate for that breeding season, and ended up having a base human instinct come in and throw a ‘for life’ at the end of that. Fucking  _humans_.”  
            “Wait, you’re trying to tell me,” Max started, her voice shaking, “that Manticore designed you guys to mate for life?”  
            “If you’re genetically compatible, but don’t think it was on purpose. Like most of the best things about us, it was a fluke of science.” Keegan said mildly. She smirked at Max. “I have a feeling you two are genetically compatible.”  
            “Us two? What?”  
            “It’s why we built our social structure around a wolf-pack.” Felix continued, ignoring Keegan’s side track, “We hunt in groups because we’re social from our human heritage. We’re predators from our panther and whatever else they threw in. We tend to mate for life, and thus, form family packs. Max, please, tell me where we are  _not_  some strange marriage of military and animal.” Felix finished, slamming his beer down on the small table next to the couch. “And I’ll tell you another thing; find me one ex-military human who doesn’t act like one of us and I’ll eat that beer bottle.”  
            Max knew he had a point. In his babbling (because Felix did tend to go on tangents), he had tossed her several good reasons for behavior she had witnessed and dismissed as odd or just a quirky individual. “How do  _I_  learn enough to lead you?” She hated how lost she sounded.  
            Felix and Keegan shared another of those damned meaningful looks. “Stop being so _human_  and go with us tonight.” Felix said, standing. “And maybe give my CO a break, because the poor guy is acting like a fucking  _puppy_ , it’s almost too pathetic to watch.”  
            His last statement was odd, and out of place to her, but Max nodded, finally saying, “Yeah, ok. But I’m not taking a gun.”  
            “That  _really_  doesn’t surprise me.” Max snapped her attention to the front door where  _Alec_ was lounging, looking like he had been leaning there for quite a while. His face was in the shadows, obscured by both too much and too little light. Max didn’t need to glance around to know that neither Felix nor Keegan were surprised by his being there. She was _really_  starting to feel out of her league. “What  _does_  surprise me is that Felix managed to get you to join our little  _serial killer_  operation.”  
            “Ya know,” Felix griped, standing, “All that hard work, and you have to go be an ass. Dude, smoke a jay and chill the fuck out. Otherwise, this is gonna be one short trip.” He tipped back the rest of his beer, and put the empty on the table. “I don’t feel like playing mediator, Keegan, wanna get Max geared up while I have a talk with my  _bestest friend in the whole wide world_?” He even fluttered his eyelashes.  
            Keegan groaned. “Ah, you’re lucky I love you.” She stood, going on tip toe to press a kiss to Felix before grabbing Max in an iron grip by the wrist and pulling her towards the door. As they passed Alec, Keegan gave him a sweet smile, and, with her free hand, grabbed him by the front of the shirt, bringing him to eye level. “You both better be in one piece when we get back. And I want him in  _working_  condition.”  
            Alec actually looked a little afraid. “Yess’m.”  
            With a nod, Keegan then rather bodily dragged Max out. Max glanced back at the shut door, frowning a little bit, even as Keegan started speaking again, this time on the merits of the different equipment they were going to be using that night. Max really tried to make an effort to listen (she had a feeling Keegan knew she didn’t have her full attention), but she was still trying to look into the shadowed face of Alec when he had made himself known back at the apartment. After her third “Can you repeat that?” Keegan just gave her that damned knowing smile, and moved on to a Manticore training story that involved Alec, Felix, and the loss of eyebrows.  
  


***

  
  
            “Now, even for you, that was stupid.”  
            Alec let his head hit the wall, hand reaching for the proffered beer even before Felix had gotten there. “I know! She’s just—grr!” The neck of the bottle came off with the top, spraying beer and glass everywhere.  
            Felix frowned at him. “Dude, I know this apartment is shit, but please, Keegan will have a fit.”  
            “Sorry.” Alec shook out his hand, and then took the paper towels that Felix had fetched. “You know, I’m usually so  _great_  with women.”  
            Felix leveled him with a hard look. “You tell her you chose her yet?”  
            Alec felt himself go pale, and busied himself with trying to sip from the broken bottle without cutting himself. He didn’t manage it as well as he would have liked. “I really have no idea what you’re talking about.”  
            What he liked most about his unit mate was that Felix did know when to let something drop. “Uh-huh.” Felix came to lean on the wall next to him. “With Keegan and I…I thought it was just a really crazy fucking heat, ya know?” He smiled a bit, getting lost in the memory. “But it turns out, you can’t mess around during heat if you got those feelings and happen to be genetically compatible. Not that you two  _have_  or anything.” He fixed Alec with a hard look.  
            Alec felt himself go pale again. “Um…does it have to be both people having feelings?”  
            Felix let  _his_  head slam against the wall. “Jesus fucking  _Christ_ , Alec! I swear, you’re so smart you’re fucking stupid.” However, the harshness of his voice was softened by the look on his face. “You’re a brother to me, you’ve had my back on more mission then I’d care to recount…and you’re gonna have to say something.  _If_  this ended up being one sided—you two have such conflicting scents, it’s hard to tell—you’re in the wrong, and you know what we gotta do.” Felix didn’t sound happy.  
            Alec knew why, and he had been dreading it as much as Felix was, if not more. “I’m talking to her, tonight, after the hit. Either way, she needs to know what we are. Can’t let her think I’m just some screw up bike messenger.”  
            Again, Felix raised his eyebrows. “You were a  _bike messenger_?” At Alec’s nod, Felix burst into laughter, earning a punch to the shoulder that didn’t even phase him. “Oh god, my ribs! X5R-494, the top assassin and highest ranking transgenic officer in Manticore, a fucking  _bike messenger_!”  
            Alec colored. “Yeah, well, I remember a certain someone rigging Renfro’s car to explode just to make sure the breeding assignments got redone so 105 was with  _you_.”  
            Felix grinned cockily. “She never knew it wasn’t the Taliban. And besides, people do crazy shit when they’re in love. I know you know.” Smiling, he said, “No more sniping at Max cause she’s a wannabe transgenic; you gave her the invite, so suck it up. I’m not babysitting you two, else I swear I’ll turn this assassination right around.” And with that, he dragged Alec over to the small coffee table, pulling out blue prints. “Now, let’s get this show on the road.”


	5. Chapter 5

            Max felt extremely uncomfortable heading out through the gates that evening, keeping her speed down on her beloved Ninja as she drove the streets of Seattle, heading towards the warehouse district in Sector 9. Keegan had been the one to give her the meeting specifics (besides Alec’s rushed ‘ _Warehouse, 2300 hours_ ’), and the old building on the docks was giving her serious doubts about agreeing to this whole endeavor. However, something Keegan had said while pulling clothing from the military stockpile still nagged at her; ‘ _You’ve done a good job showin’ 494 your world, Max. Maybe Alec wants to show you his._ ’ It clicked with her. She knew she had to be here, this was a very important first step not only with her and the X5Rs, but with her and  _Alec_. And she was also realizing (with just the slightest bit of trepidation), that it was  _just_  the first step.   
            “Are you going to wait out here all night?” Max nearly jumped off her bike, snapping her head around to see Keegan not a yard away, pulling her long hair back into a bun. The other gave a predatory smile, what little light reflecting off her eyes and teeth in an eerie way. “I told you, I’m awesome.” The smile turned serious, and she gave Max a concerned look. “Hey, are you ok to do this?”  
            It was the first time any of them had asked her that, and Max stared at Keegan, half wondering if it was yet another of their strange tests. “I’m fine.”  
            “If I know you’re lying,  _he_  certainly will.” They all spoke with that same edge to their voice that was somehow gentle, or maybe it was because Max could actually  _see_  that Keegan was concerned, and  _for her_. Keegan sighed. “We need your head in the game, and it’s alright if you’re not ready for this.”  
            Max felt herself bristle, even though Keegan hadn’t meant it in any negative way. “I’m _fine_.” She insisted, pushing down the kickstand and dismounting. She grabbed her gear out of the saddle bags, and followed a shrugging Keegan inside.  
            Felix and Alec were already there, dressed much the same as they had been before in the BDUs and t-shirts, both in black, though they had added jackets (standard issue by the look of them) and holsters to the ensemble. Alec was just clicking a silencer on the end of his gun when she dropped her bag with the rest of their gear, and she tried not to give the weapon a look of disgust. Felix was stripping down another gun, frowning at the sights. “Keegan, what the fuck did you  _do_  to this? The night sights are completely ripped out.” He gave her a look. “What did I tell you about field modifying weapons?”  
            Alec outright laughed at that. “Probably the same thing I was telling you for  _years_ , but that never stopped you. Oh, karma’s a bitch.”  
            “Then ya mate with one.” Felix finished, ducking a swat from Keegan. “I’m not fixing this, just so you know.” He told her, matter-of-factly.  
            Keegan just shrugged. “Messed with my night vision anyway. Kinda why I ripped them out.” She leaned over and kissed him, before whispering something too low for Max to hear.  
            She must have been obvious about trying too, because Alec said, “Eavesdropping isn’t a way to win friends.”  
            Max colored and turned back to him, watching him coil a long, thin wire into his utility belt. After a long moment, she let out the breath she had been holding, and gave herself a mental shove;  _You said you were going to do this…_  “Alec, I’m sorry.” Whatever he had been expecting her to say, that definitely was not it. He looked at her, eyes wide and with the most confused expression on his face. Max took that as her cue to continue. “I’ve been really hard on you, and pushing you too much to be human…I never knew we weren’t really able to do that. I’m trying to learn, because you’ve been making all the right calls, and I’ve been…”  
            “You’ve made the right calls too, Max.” Alec said, stepping forward to cup her chin with one gloved hand. “We do need to assimilate with this culture to live here-”  
            “But it needs to be a blend of who we are and not us playing a part.” She finished, looking up at him.  
            Alec’s mouth quirked into a half smile. “You’ve been talking to Keegan.” He chuckled. “But you’re right. And…” he paused, his eyes focusing almost past her. It made Max feel very transparent. “Are you ok doing this?”  
            She  _knew_  she hadn’t done anything to warrant that question. “Yes, why does everyone keep asking me that?”  
            “Maxie, why do you always lie to me?” He looked genuinely hurt, and Max just stood there, unable to come up with an answer, she was so thrown by the bluntness of his question. He gave her a look, almost as if he couldn’t believe she hadn’t figured it out. “Come on, Max, what was I designed for? Persuasion, coercion, empathy and manipulation; what they deemed ‘Social Skills’. I can sense you emotions as much as I can scent you, so, one more time.” He pinned her with that look, green eyes meeting brown, “Are you ok doing this?”  
            “I’ve got to if I don’t want to lose you, right?” She hadn’t meant to blurt it out, she really hadn’t, but now that the words were out there, they hung heavy in the air and she nearly regretted them.  _He’s going to think you’re stupid. He probably still hates you for using him to keep Logan at bay. God, Max, why couldn’t you have had this epiphany **alone**?!_  
            To her surprise, she found herself enveloped in a hug, tremors shaking her body as Alec chuckled into her hair. “You’re a fucking  _moron_ , Maxie. But I’m glad to know you’re so _committed_.” He made the word a purr, and—rather cheekily—made a grope of her ass before he pulled away.  
            Max was so surprised she almost forgot to punch him in the shoulder.  
            “Is the hippie love fest over? Can we go kill things now?” Keegan was rocking from the balls of her feet to her heels, her sniper rifle already slung over her back, hand gun strapped to her leg and what looked like two long knives in either boot.  
            Max had to stop herself from laughing; the rifle was almost as long as Keegan was tall. Felix seemed to catch her muffled snicker as he passed, picking up a grenade from the table and securing it to his belt and saying, “It’s a bit of a running joke that Keegan likes big things.”  
            “You’ll say anything to brag.” Alec announced, elbowing him away from the munitions table. “And do you  _really_  think we’ll need  _grenades_? Wait, this is you. Of course you do.” Felix just beamed at him.  
            Max stared at the table with apprehension, wrinkling her nose at the wide array of  _guns_ that lay before her. Frankly, the whole mess unnerved her, but—to her surprise—Felix handed her a nicely balanced machete (why there was one in this pile, she had no idea, but she wasn’t complaining), and she was grateful they thought of her.  
            “I’m not actually planning on using weapons for the actual hit.” Alec said, as she examined the blade on her new acquisition. Max looked at him, surprised. He shrugged. “The run down is this—you’re shadowing me. You don’t get in front of me, you don’t make any moves I don’t make, be quiet, and you don’t  _touch_  anything—that’s a biggie. You’re strictly observer unless this goes FUBAR.” He gestured towards Felix and Keegan. “They’re going to be the distractions. Usually, they split up, and Felix takes the head on approach, while Keegan slips in and takes out security. I’ve seen them switch it up, it’s usually amusing. They’re going to have the kill count; body guards and watchmen are expendables. Usually, we try to knock them out, but we all operate on the Us/Them principle; it’s better to get out alive then let someone live. But, this is a stealth operation, so the less the better.” He had a smile on his face and Max wasn’t sure if he knew it, but he looked positively ecstatic. “My job is to get to the big boss and take him out in the least suspicious way as possible. Now, instinctively, that would be to strangle or snap the neck—hey, you don’t sleep, I go after people’s necks. Tolerance, Max. Tolerance. However, we’re a bit too strong for that, and it would be obvious someone genetically empowered did the hit. Still haven’t figured out how I’m gonna…” He continued on, muttering to himself, and Max was a little worried with what exactly was in Alec’s repertoire of ‘How to Kill a Man’ (and just  _where_  did one put that on a resume?).  
            Off to the side, Felix and Keegan were ‘getting ready’ in their own fashion, which seemed to involve marijuana, double checking that the weapons were in working condition, and going over the blue prints. Max had a feeling one of those things  _didn’t really_  belong. “Are you guys going to be fine to go in?”  
            Again, to her surprise, it was Alec who answered. “Some of our best missions were stoned off our asses. Mind you, it was the Manticore drugs, but this stuff is light weight in comparison. Trust me, Felix works better this way. And Keegan’s not as…by the book. Makes things easier.” He mouthed a ‘trust me’, and Max couldn’t help but do as he asked.  
            From their perch on some old crates, Felix and Keegan shared a look of mock disgust. “I got some last minute instructions from our handler.” Felix announced, pulling a sheet of paper from a tiny printer nearly buried under all the weapons. “Preferred method of kill: heart attack.  _Damn_  they just want miracles don’t they.” His eyebrows raised as he got to the bottom of the memo. “Increased our pay though. And that’s  _with_  the addition of 452.” He snubbed out his joint, his facial expression going blank. “Alec, this is gonna be rough for no-casualties.”  
            “I already informed them that most of the security team will be DOA. 105, syringes?” Alec looked expectantly towards Keegan, who was now pawing through a medkit tucked under a chair.  
            “Saline or arsenic?” Keegan asked him, and even Alec looked momentarily startled by the options. “What?”  
            “The non-detectable Saline, please.” Alec muttered, and caught the syringe as Keegan tossed it to him.  
            Max frowned at him. “You want to shoot up with salt water before the hit?”  
            Alec rolled his eyes. “Our employers requested a heart attack. Air bubble in a vein—I’m thinking the big one in the neck,” he added with a wink, “Causes a heart attack. Smother gently, and the guy’s a corpse with a tag that reads  _natural_  causes rather than homicide.” He gently tucked the syringe into one of the inside pockets of his BDU jacket and gestured for the other two to join them at the table. “I want to move in ten. From here on out, designations only, and radio silence unless absolutely necessary.”  
            Max paused, watching the other two nod, and adjust near invisible headsets behind their ears. “How come I didn’t get a radio?”  
            Keegan jostled her in a friendly sort of way. “You’re with Alec. Extra static is extra noise, besides,” :: _He tells us you know Military Hand Code._ :: She finished, her hands moving quickly in between last checks on the various straps and holsters she was wearing.  
            “Um…” :: _Yes, I do._ :: Max wasn’t used to anything other than orders or attack plans, but she thought she still had regular words down.  
            Felix, Alec and Keegan stared at her hands, all with similar expressions of disgust. “Oh-kay.” Felix said, clasping her on the shoulder. “I know what  _we’re_  working on when we get back.”  
            Max glared at Alec. Alec shrugged. “You never asked. Besides, they updated the code since you left.”  
            The five minutes from the warehouse to the manor where the target lived seemed to take a lifetime. Alec gestured something to Felix, but before Max could decipher it, the burlier transgenic was already moving towards the front gates, using various cars on the street as cover. He moved with the shadows in a way that was nearly invisible to her eyes. For a moment, he disappeared under one of the cars, and then he was making his way back, a small remote clutched in one large hand. He flashed the ‘ok’ symbol. Keegan was already on the wall, hanging on just below the top so she was concealed by the large stone, and Alec reached up and tapped her calf. In a flash—and without a sound—she was over it. Thirty seconds later, the power in the complex was out.  
            That was when the car Felix had been under just a minute before exploded into a bright ball of flame, momentarily blinding Max. But Alec had her arm in a tight grip, and he was giving her a leg up over the wall where Keegan had just disappeared (and Keegan was there, on the other side, taking out two security guards in a barrage of martial arts moves that were nearly too effective), and Alec was gesturing something at her. Keegan flipped him off, breaking a guard’s neck with an easy step of her foot and a barely audible ‘Oops’.  
            Alec rolled his eyes, practically yanking Max along behind him. They had just made it inside through a de-alarmed window when another explosion sounded, and gunfire blared outside. Alec tapped his ear, “496, you ok?”  
            “Peachy, 494. Drive by. Welcome to Gangland.” Felix growled back.  
            “Take ‘em out.” Alec responded, ignoring Max’s horrified expression.  
            “With pleasure.”  
            “That’s not our target!”  ** _Our_** _target? When did that happen?_  Max almost dug her heels in, but Alec was already moving on, following some floor plan he had probably seen in a briefing, and ignoring her.  
            However, when a security guard appeared in the doorway in front of them, he seemed to remember she was there. With a shove to get her out of his way, Alec dove at the guy, tackling him around the waist and bringing him to the ground with a muffled ‘oof’. Max barely could see the man putting up a struggle; but that was likely because Alec had manhandled him into a sleeper hold, and was counting to himself until the man lost consciousness, one hand over his eyes so the guard only saw blackness. Then his attention was fully back on Max. “452, what part of ‘be quiet’ didn’t you understand?” She bit her lip and held her tongue, nodding and following him as he made his way through the winding halls.  
            Already, she had seen how out of her league she was. And she had a sneaky suspicion that Alec could have done this one completely on his own; there was something else besides the training and the fact they were designed to do this that she was supposed to be seeing.  
            The décor of the mansion was tasteful, but overdone. Obviously, this person had a lot of money, but for the life of her, Max couldn’t figure out  _why_  they were doing this hit. At least until Alec paused by one of the rooms, making sure his gloves were tight against his hand before opening the door.  
            Inside was what looked like a green house, except the plants were all, “Yeah, that’s pot. He’s a drug lord.” Alec said in a voice barely above a whisper. “Felix made me promise to grab some.” With a roll of his eyes, Alec took two steps into the room, and flicking out his pocket knife, cut down two or three of the tallest plants. Grinning, he handed them to Max. She fought not to scoff, but tucked them gently into her own jacket.  
            Another two elaborate hallways, and Alec was shaking his head, looking like he really wanted to kick out at the fancy table or the gilded picture frames. Max couldn’t blame him, the whole ‘rich’ thing was ridiculous to her too.  
            Two steps later, and he was holding up his hand, in the universal signal to stop, and pulling a handkerchief out of his breast pocket. He brought it up to his nose, inhaling, before tucking it away, and scenting the air. His head snapped towards one of the many doors. After a moment’s hesitation, he handed the kerchief to Max, who imitated him, following just behind him. Just barely, she could pick up the same scent behind the door, mixed with something sharp, and rank, but oh so tempting. She glanced down at Alec’s moving hands, :: _He’s afraid_ ::. Oh. She was scenting fear. He knelt by the door handle, extracting lock picks from his belt, and quickly undoing the lock. Making sure he had her attention, he then eased the door open.  
            Shots were fired immediately. Max ducked, not realizing there had been others in the room, but Alec dive-rolled into the fire, coming up and firing two shots with his silencer-enhanced pistol. Two thumps followed. Obviously, Alec had known they were there.  
            That was when the man started pleading.  
            “The money’s in the safe, just take it and leave! I promise I won’t call the cops! Just don’t hurt me!” Max didn’t know what she had been expecting, but the young, thirty-something guy with a slight beer gut and greasy hair wasn’t it. He had white powder around his nose, and there were lines of cocaine on the table—one of the bodyguards had fallen into it with a bullet hole neatly between his eyes—and the man, drug lord, whatever looked…pitiable.

            She looked to Alec, hoping that, once seeing him, he felt that way too. But the look on Alec’s face was the Manticore blank; his eyes were a panther’s, ready for the kill. With an audible snarl, Alec lunged forward, trapping the man’s hands behind him even as he dove for one of his guards’ fallen guns. The thin wire she had seen before made a reappearance as Alec used it to lash his arms in place, growling a “Don’t struggle.” Before he loped to the front of the man, pulling out the syringe Keegan had given him.  Max couldn’t turn away even if she wanted to. Alec tapped it, but not to clear the bubbles as she had seen many nurses do, and then, with his blurring speed, he was suddenly back behind the man, holding his head to the side and jamming the needle into the thick vein on the side of his neck. Max could see the bubble disappear under his skin.  
            Alec didn’t move until the man yelled, and then it was to stuff his own fist into the guy’s mouth. He watched the heart attack with impassiveness, his other hand removing the syringe and carefully monitoring the guy’s pulse. After about five minutes, he pulled his hand from the guy’s mouth, and let the body fall face first onto the floor. “Wrap it up.” He muttered into his headset, unwinding the wire from the corpse’s arms.  
            Max stared at Alec as if she had never seen him before. The predatory display had sent chills (good and bad) down her spine, but…she couldn’t get her head around it.   
            The trip back out was surprisingly easier than the trip in. Max was sure she didn’t say a word until the four of them were back in the warehouse, and Alec was nudging her, saying “You gotta give Felix his party favors.”  
            “Yeah…” She said vaguely, handing over the slightly crushed plants. Felix didn’t seem to mind, and started singing (quite literally) their praises as she attempted to find a seat while the world suddenly spun.  
            And then there were those bright green eyes in front of her again, and Alec’s voice saying from what sounded like a thousand miles away, “Maxie, are you sure you’re ok?”  
            It was like he was a completely different person. “I’m fine.” She insisted, despite the fact her mouth felt dry, and she felt surprisingly (unsatisfied) disoriented.  
            Felix came up behind her, grasping her shoulder like an old friend and saying, “Alec, it was a big jump for her. She just needs some catnip.” His eyes sparkled mischievously.  
            Despite his concern, even Alec looked excited by the prospect. “Max?”  
            One of these days, she was actually going to listen when people told her  _Curiosity killed the cat_. After all, she  _was_  part feline.


	6. Chapter 6

            Catnip, as it turned out, wasn’t code for anything.   
            By the time Max had showered (trying to wash the dead look of the drug lord’s eyes out of her mind and the soiled and dissatisfied feeling off her skin) and re-dressed in something much more civilian, Keegan had explained that much through the door, though she had refused to explain any more on the subject.  She was already frustrated at the bodyguard Alec had set on her as she had left the warehouse on unsteady legs. Keegan, however, didn’t seem to mind, and had taken a much quicker shower despite her longer hair, and dressed as if Manticore was expecting her on the field two minutes ago, all the while trying to impart upon Max that—as first missions went—she had done good.  
            “At least you didn’t throw up.” She added, folding her BDUs and tossing them into her duffle as Max attempted to tame her own hair.  
            Max shot her a look. “It’s not like I wasn’t tempted. God, he just  _stuck_  him, and  _watched_ him  _die_.” Her knees nearly gave out, and Max sat on her couch, brush falling into her lap.  
            Keegan looked back at her, pausing in the braiding of her hair. “Do you know what a sociopath is?”  
            Max snorted, “You?”  
            To her surprise, Keegan grinned. “Yep. And Felix, and Alec…fuck, all of us X5Rs. But that’s _who_ , not  _what_.” she sighed, and came to sit next to Max, carefully taking the brush from limp fingers and running it through Max’s hair. Max leaned into it, surprised at how much she enjoyed the contact. “The ‘what’ is that we can turn off emotions when we need to. It’s not true sociopathy, not the kind humans get; it’s what we were trained to do. But, hell, we  _could_  be real ones if we didn’t actually have  _feelings_  most of the time.” She sighed again, continuing to brush out Max’s hair. “Government does it to all their trained killers. Most of them choose not to turn their feelings on again…or maybe they just can’t. Sometimes you get a mark that really gets you too, one that probably coulda had a decent life, or  _could do some good_ …” She paused in her brushing, a frown clouding her face. “Max, we’re  _predators_. We hunt because it’s in our blood. It doesn’t mean we’re always ok with who we take out.” She pulled Max around to face her, catching her chin so that she couldn’t look away. “What you saw out there is the killer in us, so you don’t have any illusions. But don’t think for a second that it changes  _who_  we are…especially Alec.”  
            Max swallowed hard. “You guys scared me.” She said, honestly. “And I’m not sure I really liked how you just…stepped on that guy’s neck.”  
            Keegan shrugged. “I’d already crushed his windpipe. It was snap his neck or let him suffocate slowly because he stupidly walked into a punch to the Adam’s apple. Which would you have picked?”  
            Max let out a humorless laugh. “You’re trying to say you killed him as an act of mercy, because he was stupid enough to fight a transgenic?”  
            “Yeah, basically. The guards are the ones coming at us with orders to kill on sight; makes it kinda hard to walk them through a battle to unconsciousness when you’re on a time-crunch.” Keegan made a face, her tone gentling. “Max, I’m sorry. You gotta understand, I’ve been doing this for nearly twenty years. I’ve been on missions where letting a guard live has cost us good people, and I know what these  _humans_ ,” she spat the word, “Did to our Biggs, just because he was what he was. They didn’t even know what you know. I’m jaded.” However, she flashed her a grin, and stood, pulling Max to her feet. “But, I  _also_ play violent videogames, and people say that causes fucked-up-ness in children. Think it played a part?” Max couldn’t help but laugh; they all had that wacky sense of humor that made things easier to swallow, somehow.  
            She was feeling much more at ease (despite the dissatisfied feeling), by the time her and Keegan arrived at apartment 3B. This time, it was Alec’s apartment in the X5R housing they were all meeting at, which was a welcome change. Max didn’t even have to knock, because Felix was already opening the door, and pulling both girls inside, kicking the door shut behind him with one foot. He positively  _reeked_  of pot and whatever soap he had used in the shower. “Ah! The girls are here! Finally!” He planted a kiss on Max’s cheek before pulling Keegan to him, and kissing her quite thoroughly.  
            Max found herself rolling her eyes at the two, and moved around them into Alec’s much larger living room, towards his couch. Alec himself was already sitting there, watching Felix and Keegan with something like amusement and ( _was that jealousy?_ ), holding a beer out for her.  
            She headed over, taking it with a smile. “Hey.”  
            “Hey,” he said, smiling at her, “I almost thought I freaked you out too much.”  
            Max sighed, “Isn’t that why you sent your babysitter?” She joked, trying to smile. He frowned at her. “I was.” She admitted.  
            “I usually hunt deer.” He said, mildly, sipping at his beer. She looked at him, cocking one head to the side. “When I get that urge, I hunt deer. They get big out here, can be a challenge.” He looked back at her. “I’m trying to say, I got other outlets.”  
 _But why would he tell me…oh._  The realization of the subtext behind his words left her mute for a few minutes, as she tried in vain to get her vocal chords to work. “Hits not doing it for you?” She asked, almost afraid of the answer.  
            He pinned her with his cat-green eyes, his expression serious. “Hunting, stalking,  _killing_  is in my DNA as much as yours, Max. I honestly prefer hits that I know I’m doing good on. But, if taking out humans is…too much for you, I can go hunting.” The way he said it, with a strange finality, gave her the distinct impression that if he stopped, all of the X5Rs stopped.  
            Something also told her it wasn’t just getting high that the two semi-clones were doing before they got there.  
            “But, I won’t deny that I think we’re better. That I think humans are prey.” The words were said staring just past Felix’s shoulder, and she had a feeling Alec couldn’t say them to her, even though he felt like he should.  
            “I don’t think it would be right of me to ever ask you to stop.” She said, finally. “It’s your life.” Alec’s expression became unreadable, and Max sighed.  _What the hell does he want me to say? Give me the damned script already!_  
            “Ok, there was much more cheer in the room last time I looked.” Felix announced, pulling away from Keegan with what Max though should have been accompanied by the sound of a plunger.  
            Alec scowled at him. “Yeah, well, if you were trying for a world’s record kiss, you’ve got a lot longer to go.”  
            Felix smiled sweetly at him. “Are you offering?”  
            “Oh please.” Keegan groaned, elbowing him as she moved past to flop onto the loveseat next to the couch. Max  _hated_  how she  _still_  didn’t make a noise. “I think we’re all too sober if  _someone_  is trying to have deep, meaningful conversations.” She said, lighting up a joint. These guys really seemed to like their recreational drugs.  
            But, to Max’s surprise, Felix just shook his head, and pulled out a plastic bag with little cloth bags in them. Beside her, Alec drew in a breath. Max looked between the two of them, eyebrows raised. Felix grinned. “Well, Peanut, you wanted to know how you weren’t human. And this shit doesn’t work on humans.” He carefully tossed her one of the cloth bags. “Take a wiff.”  
            “Are you serious?” Max asked, not really sure if she wanted to, but the bag  _was_  exuding the most wonderful aroma. She hesitantly took a sniff. “Oh…my…” Nearly instantaneously, her world became engulfed in colors, and she found herself cuddling the bag to her face, falling onto Alec’s lap. Or laps, there was more than one of him. It looked like there was more than one of everything in the room, but it felt like she was experiencing an earthquake. That, or Alec was just laughing at her.  
            Someone was pulling the bag out of her grasp, and she made a pitiful whine, but almost immediately, her senses cleared, and she forced herself to sit up. “What the fuck was that?!”  
            Alec was still laughing at her, holding the bag well away from himself. “Catnip.” He brought the bag to his nose and took a sniff, only to give a headshake, as if trying to force it away at the same time. “Whoa, I totally forgot about the colors…”  
            Max stared at Alec, torn between shock and complete amusement as he fell off the couch, nuzzling at the bag and  _purring_. “And that shit’s  _legal_?”  
            “People give it to their cats all the time.” Felix announced, holding a tripping Keegan, who was pawing at his hand like an overgrown…well, cat. “It was hilarious when Psy-Ops introduced it to us, and we became human looking kittens. There’s footage somewhere of me with a ball of yarn some tech thought would be  _cute_.” He scowled.  
            “I think it’s half the reason Felix didn’t blow up Manticore; he just wanted his catnip treats for doing good.” Keegan said, when Felix had moved the catnip away. She shook her head as if to clear it. “It’s crazy what's different about us and humans, but what we have in common with one of their favorite  _pets_. I’m allergic to aspirin. Felix, well,” She smiled at her mate, who was now nuzzling his catnip bag. “Felix does his own thing, no matter what anyone else is doing. Unless there’s catnip.”   
            Max chuckled at them, helping Alec back onto the couch while trying to wrest the catnip bag away from him. To her surprise, his purr increased, and he pulled back, instead having her fall from her seat into the floor with him.  
            Behind her, Keegan laughed. “Yeah, good luck now. Alec’s a cuddler. I’m dead certain all the 4-9’s are.” And, Max may have seen her point, as now Alec had an arm around her, and his nose pressed to the catnip bag, alternating between nuzzling it and her hair. “You want some help?”  
            Max smiled to herself, and allowed a moment to cuddle back, catching the faint aroma of the catnip, and closing her eyes. “I’m good.”  
            “Well, I’m glad I don’t have to kill him.” It was barely in her hearing range, but Max tilted her head up just enough to catch the rest of Felix’s whispered sentence, “I was afraid it was a one-sided mating for a while.”  
            “She still doesn’t know.” Keegan whispered back, her voice just as low as his.  
            Max frowned, feeling Alec shift under her as he started to come out of the catnip haze, the bag having fallen somewhere under the couch.  _Felix must have been joking. I mean, what else could it have been? And what the hell did he mean, mated?_  
            “Uh, Max?” She tilted her head, struggling to look towards Alec’s surprised green eyes. He flashed her a slightly awkward smile. “Did I yank ya down here?”  
            “Yep.” She replied, sitting up and offering a smile of her own. So many things were making sense now, and then new things would appear and throw her world again. The least she could do is try to solve more of the mystery. She looked at Felix and Keegan, who were still giggling to themselves, oblivious that Alec was no longer cuddling Max to death. “Hey Felix?” Felix glanced over, smiling as he put his catnip bag back in the plastic bag. Alec fished the other one from under the couch and tossed it over. “How can a mating be one-sided?” Felix missed the catch. Alec was staring at her with something akin to abject horror, and Keegan looked like she was thinking fast. Max  _knew_  they had been holding out something, and it wasn’t the assassinations. “Well?” She prompted, as Felix groped with one hand for the dropped bag.  
            “Um…” He stalled, looking anywhere but at Alec, she noticed, until Alec gave a barely perceivable nod. Felix sighed. “Well, you know when you want to mate with someone, you have to have to have the right feelings, and be genetically compatible…and the female has to be in heat.” Max felt a shiver go through her body. “The heat’s different cause it’s usually triggered by the first two. However, sometimes, if someone really has strong feelings, and is genetically compatible with a partner…if they…well, have really hot sex while there’s heat, the one with feelings can end up mated to the partner…and the partner would not be mated to that person.”  
            Max felt her stomach drop. “And then?”  
            “You really don’t wanna know.” Felix said, lighting a joint with a field lighter. She angrily met his eyes, but he stared her down, repeating, “You  _really_  don’t want to know.”  
            “The one who mated without consent is killed.” Alec supplied, face between his hands. Max looked at him in alarm, before sinking back onto the couch, hand over her mouth. “It’s really a mercy killing, Max. They waste away, pining for someone who generally ends up mated to someone else. They’re possessive, have breeding compulsions…it’s all the animal instincts and obsession with the human intelligence. Stalker ex boyfriend, only they have a direct link to you, your scent, your mental state…” He gave a shudder. “It’s best for everyone.”  
            Max looked to Felix and Keegan, dreading the confirmation. “You saw how I treated you when I saw you attack Keegan. You should have seen what I did to males around her when she went into heat.” Felix didn’t look proud or happy, he was just stating facts. “We’re not rational about our mates.” Keegan nodded.  
            Max turned back to Alec, her tone accusatory. “And you mated to me.”  
            He didn’t meet her eyes. “I didn’t know, then. But it was part of the reason I tried to lock myself in my room.”  
            It swirled in her head ( _Yes! He has feelings for me! He couldn’t have fucking told me?_ ), and for some reason, all she could think to do was to pull his face to look to her, and kiss him. His eyes flew wide, and it took him a second to respond, by which time she was already pulling away. “You’re an ass.” With that, she stood up, and fully intended on walking out the door.  
            However, as distracting as the kiss had been, it was not nearly enough to throw Alec off his game. He was in front of her in a second (by vaulting over Felix and Keegan, still watching them, looking vaguely entertained), and blocked her way. “Oh, no. No way you get to leave like that.”  
            “Why not? You went and got yourself  _mated_  to me!”  
            “Because I fucking  _love_  you, Max! I mean, seriously, how hard is that to figure out?” He slammed his fist into the wall, taking out a good portion of the dry wall. “All I wanted to do was show you that I wasn’t a complete fuck up, show you who I  _was_ , what we  _are_ , so that, maybe, we could be something. But I can’t do anything right by you! When I didn’t tell you about my past, you swore I was lying, but when I tell you everything, you look at me like I’m… fucking  _Ben_!”  
            Max started at the thought of Alec’s feral twin, and, yes, he was right. She  _was_  seeing him as taking on the traits of his psychotic twin, and she hadn’t even realized it. But that was  _wrong_. How many times had she been afraid of losing him? How many times had she wanted to start something since that heat, but been too afraid? How long had it been since she had stopped picturing herself coming home to Logan, but to Alec instead?  
            Max was sick and tired of her own fears and bullshit. She was making her own head hurt, and for some reason, she could see the answer was surprisingly simple: “You’re right.”  
            “I’m not him, I never wa—what?” Alec was adorable when he was confused.  
            Max took a deep breath, forcing her misplaced anger and her disgust of what Manticore made them (him) away, “You’re right. I was too busy judging to see what you were trying to show me. And I was kinda comparing you to Ben.” She hated admitting that. “But…ever since that night, I wanted to ask you…I was too afraid…” That was even _harder_  to admit.  
            Alec seemed to know what she was saying, though, because he looked ecstatic, and he closed the distance between them, pressing his lips to hers in a needy and passionate kiss. Max responded eagerly, wrapping her arms around his neck, and smiling into his mouth when he wrapped his around her waist, lifting her into the air.  
            The sound of clapping from behind them really broke the moment, though. “Oh, god, I think I’m gonna cry!” Felix mocked in a false falsetto, using the corner of Keegan’s tanktop to dab at his eyes.   
            Keegan was the one giving them the applause, nodding her head and crying, “Bravi, bravi!”  
            “I hate you.” Alec grumbled, lowering Max down. That only sent the other two into fits of laughter instead. “This is why they are always stoned; everything is infinitely more amusing.”  
            “No, that would have been amusing without the weed. You two are better than cable!” Felix laughed.   
            Max felt herself blush. “You guys are incorrigible.”  
            “Yeah, yeah.” Keegan said, waving her off. “We’re gonna head out, give you two some _alone_  time.”  
            “Actually,” Max started, feeling herself go redder, “I think I’m gonna head out and clear my head.” She looked back at Alec, hoping he wouldn’t take it as an insult. “I wanna talk later.”  
            To her great relief, his face slid into an easy grin. “I’ll be by later, then. Sleep is probably best for those of us who do sleep.” He added, pointed looking towards the still giggling pair behind them.  
            “Right. Sleep. Sure.” Felix said, standing. “We’re right behind ya, Max. Good work, Alec.” He bent to help pull Keegan to her feet.  
            Alec moved aside, allowing Max to inch past him, but he leaned in, catching her in a kiss before she had cleared his body. “I will be,” He said, looking into her eyes, “by later, I mean.”  
            She smiled at him, and kissed him again, feeling that tingle deep in her stomach and a little of that unsatisfied feeling dissipate. Her smile lasted until she broke with Felix and Keegan on the first floor, and started to make her way towards the entrance and they back to their apartment. Someone stepped out in front of her, blocking her way to the door, and she let out a tiny gasp, stepping back onto a bit of broken glass. The sound was horribly loud in her ears.  
            The figure stepped into the light and for one second, she thought it was her unit-mate Krit, but he held himself too stiffly, and walked too silently. “You may have fooled our CO, but the rest of us don’t trust you.” He said, and his voice was gruff. “You  _can’t_  trust an niner.”   
 _Oh my God, it’s X5R-472, Devon, Krit’s **twin**_!  
            “Is there a problem here?” Felix’s voice said from behind her, and Max felt the comforting weight of his hand on her shoulder. “Because I don’t think picking a fight with the leader of your nation is a good way to go, Devon. Let alone your Commanding Officer.”  
            Devon dropped his gaze and hunched his shoulders, immediately seeming less a threat. “ _I_  didn’t forget Psy-Ops,  _sir_.”  
            Felix had him by the collar of his shirt before Max could blink. “You being insubordinate _again_ , 472?”  
            “N-no sir!”  
            Felix nearly threw him backwards, and Devon barely caught himself. “Get out of here and come back when you’ve learned some manners. Dismissed!”  
            Devon snapped a salute, executed and about-face, then hightailed it out of the complex before Felix could grab him again. Max looked at Felix, worry across her face. “Does that happen a lot?”  
            Felix only shrugged. “Hey, I thought you had some head clearing to do?” He said, flashing her a smile. “G’night, Peanut. Pleasant dreams.”  
            As he walked back to his apartment, Max watched him with a sense of growing unease. Only after his door was locked, did she make her way out of the building, and down the dark streets back to her apartment.


	7. Chapter 7

            By the time the sun had risen the next day, Max found that her opinion on the matter of her and Alec hadn’t changed. It was a brand new experience, not changing her mind seventeen times overnight. But now she dreaded that perhaps Felix had been mistaken, that Alec hadn’t mated with her. That maybe the mistrust of the X5Rs had convinced him she wasn’t worthy, and they found a way to break it, to make him realize that he was in a league of his own, better than  _her_ -  
            A knock on the door startled her out of her frantic pacing. She crept towards it, sniffing, trying to see if she could identify who was outside, like  _they_  did. The scent was warm, and musky, and made her think of everything she  _wanted_ ; it could only be Alec. She yanked the door open.  
            He was standing there, sheepish smile on his face and  _are those roses?_  “I figured I owed it to you to ask you right.” He colored, and shoved the flowers at her, forcing his hands into his pockets as she stared at him in disbelief. After a minute of bouncing on his heels, he risked a glance at her, and colored again, “Um, can you  _not_  stare?”  
            “Where the hell did you find roses?” She asked, making sure he couldn’t see her face. She didn’t want him to see how relieved she was that he had actually came, let alone that he was attempting  _romance_.  
            Alec colored again. “Is that really important?” He looked disappointed.  
            Max couldn’t hide her smile any more, she lowered the roses, and practically beamed at him. “No. I just…wanted to see you sweat.”  
            He broke into a huge grin, and pulled her into a hug, crushing the roses between them. “Jesus, Maxie.” He said, nuzzling her hair, “Don’t  _do_  that.” Max hugged him tight against her, feeling surprisingly warmed by his body. It felt good, and right, if a little odd that the glow in her chest took on a physical sensation. A drop of sweat tickled down her back. Alec’s nose twitched, and his eyes immediately locked on hers, eyebrows raised. A sly smirk crept at the corner of his lips. “Well, that’s certainly a relief.” He growled, practically pushing her inside.  
            Max went back willingly, mirroring his eyebrow raise. “What is?”  
            He gently grabbed the roses from her, depositing them on the counter before pulling Max back to him, scenting her hair, her neck and his breath against her skin was sending chills in all the right places. “Babe, it’s too soon for this to be a natural heat. Can only mean one thing,” He caught her gaze, and held it. “Whatever thinking you did, you want me as much as I want you.”  
            “I think the word you were looking for is ‘love’.” She corrected, smiling coyly at him. The fact she was in heat didn’t bother her, but maybe that was just because it was  _Alec_ , maybe it was just because it was hormones, maybe it was just because she finally figured everything out.  
            Alec definitely liked her choice of words, because he was kissing her again, deeply, and passionately. Max definitely didn’t mind. Especially when he slid his hands under her t-shirt, and shimmied it up, breaking their kiss to pull it over her head. Max was already at work on his buttons, pushing the fabric off his shoulders. The skin on skin contact was better than anything she could have imagined, and she plastered herself to him, struggling to work the button on his jeans as she kissed him with all the passion she could muster.  
            Alec, however, grabbed her hips, and lifted her up, putting her a foot away, and carefully leaning back from the kiss as if reluctant to lose the contact. “You made me buy you new clothes last time. I’m bein’ careful now.” He flashed her a smile, and dropped to his knees, hooking his fingers in the waist band of her sweat pants, and tugging them down, catching her panties along the way, “Of course, if you had just dressed like  _this_  last time…”  
            “You want me naked or not?” She snapped, though she knew if he stopped now, she’d just drag him back herself. He grinned at her, and held a hand out for her to use for balance as she stepped out of her pants, before he stood in one, graceful motion. She didn’t even have a chance to reach for his own pants before he had shucked them off, and kicked them to the side. She stared, taking him in for a long moment and realizing that, just somehow, Manticore had designed him to be  _exactly_  what she found… _perfect_. Lust was starting to cloud her mind—in her opinion, the worst part about heat, because she nearly never  _remembered_  the best part of the encounter—and she stuttered out, “Bedroom,” before she lost her capacity for rational thought completely.  
            Alec seemed right along with her on both counts. “God, Maxie, you’re fucking  _gorgeous_ , anyone tell you that?” He pulled her to him again, and then scooped her into his arms, eliciting a startled yelp from her, and he grinned, revealing the same sharp fangs she had seen on the other X5Rs, but they looked  _sexy_  and not intimidating at the current moment.  
            She almost didn’t realize when they had gotten to the bedroom until Alec dropped her on the bed, stalking on hands and knees up the mattress to join her. She felt herself purr when he was completely over her, every fiber of her being singing because he was  _so close_.  
 _If this is what it’s gonna be like from now on…_  her mind started, but then he was licking at her throat, nibbling down it to her shoulder, and she lost track of the thought completely. He didn’t stop at her shoulder, but continued down, licking a trail down her chest, stopping at her nipples to tease them to hardness before sliding back up her body, nuzzling his cheek against hers. It partly reminded her of a cat begging to be scratched, and she ran her nails up his back, coming to stop at his shoulders.  
            The startled look in his eyes was priceless, but the rock hard press of his cock against her leg proved she had certainly discovered one of  _his_  ‘spots’. She smiled wickedly at him, arching her neck to kiss him- He pulled her to him, lips meeting almost painfully against teeth, and he thrust himself into her, his cock opening her up and she moaned into his mouth. She was damned sure she was seeing stars, too.   
            Alec broke the kiss, his breath coming in ragged, panting breaths, and he coiled one hand around her hip, using the leverage to push himself deeper, though he was slowing his rhythm. Max tried to buck against him, making desperate noises to convey she _wanted_  him to just  _fuck_  her already, but he smiled, burying his face in the hair near her ear and whispering, “I want you to  _enjoy_  this.” Before he shifted the angle of his hips.  
            It was like an explosion of sensation, and Max was sure she cried out loud enough to send every transgenic in a city block to her doorstep, but Alec didn’t stop, he tilted his shoulder in, giving her the perfect way to gag herself. And it felt like he got even harder within her when she bit down, effectively muffling her moans.  
            It took her four minutes to stop trembling from that orgasm, and Alec was still pumping into her at the same deep, languid pace. And still smiling too, despite the slightly bleeding bite mark on his shoulder. “A-alec…” She gasped.  
            Alec smiled at her, making a shushing noise, and shifted his hips again to hit that  _spot_ , and Max had  _never_  came  _twice_  before! But even in the haze of heat and lust, she thought Alec was  _far_  too at ease, and once again dragged her nails up his back, earning a stutter in his rhythm, which then exploded in speed and depth as he lost whatever self restraint was holding him back.  
            If Max hadn’t been too busy cumming a third time, she would have been smiling to herself at the ease she had figured out her lover’s first ‘kink’.  She matched him, thrust for thrust, and he cried out with her name on his lips, followed by a rushed, “Oh god, I love you!” as she felt him explode within her, hips finally slowing. Panting heavily, he held himself above her on shaking arms before they suddenly gave out, and he collapsed onto her with a soft, “Oof!”  
            “Ooo…Alec, you’re not exactly light.” She muttered. He smiled into her chest, nuzzling the space between her breasts, one hand cupping one. She playfully slapped it away. “Alec, I can’t breathe.”  
            “Ok, ok.” With a heaving sigh, he pulled his softening cock out, and flopped onto his back, still breathing heavy. “That was…wow.”  
            Max nuzzled herself into him, smiling. “Yeah. So we’re…?” She tried not to sound too hopeful.   
            Alec chuckled. “Well, if you can’t wash my scent off you, then yeah.” He poked at the bite she gave him with an amused quirk to his lips. “And I’m fucking  _lucky_. You’re  _feisty_.”  
            It took only a few minutes for Alec to fall into a doze after that, still cuddling Max close, and she pillowed her head on his unbitten shoulder, tracing over the bullet scar from the Jam Pony Siege that seemed like years ago. A minute or so after she started doing that, Alec’s chest started rumbling; he was purring. She fell into a light doze herself, not long after that.  
  


***

  
  
            “This probably isn’t a good time.”  
            Max’s first thought upon hearing those words were  _Who the fuck is in my apartment?_ , but the second she opened her eyes she realized she had a more pressing issue—the fact she was  _naked_  and there was someone in her apartment. However, before she could accurately assess exactly  _how_  to deal with this situation, a terrycloth robe hit her in the chest. Max slipped it on, following it’s trajectory to the bedroom doorway, where stood Keegan, looking certainly not her best.  
            Alec sat up like a bolt beside her, seeming less concerned with his nudity then with the fact Keegan looked beat to all hell. “What the fuck happened?”  
            Max expected there to be a wave of the familiar sense of jealousy that always accompanied her viewing of interactions between Logan and Asha, but it didn’t come. In fact, she had never been so  _sure_ ; of what, she wasn’t entirely sure, but she felt it in a place deeper than her heart.  And as for Keegan, the female transgenic had certainly come off worse in a fight, or twelve. The way she was only half leaning suggested a broken rib, perhaps more, and her face was bruised and bloodied. As she stepped back from Alec, she dragged her right foot, and Max was sure it was sprained or worse.  
            “Felix is taking care of it. I’m here to make sure you two are ok.” She sounded resigned. Alec stared her down for a long moment, but Keegan held it, before cocking and eyebrow, and pointedly glancing downwards. “You know, ya might want to throw some clothes on before I have to start questioning the validity of some of those claims you make.” She even managed to crack a smile.  
            Max snickered; if Keegan could joke, then obviously she was alright. However, Alec just continued to frown at her, though he did move to grab his pants from the living room, still giving Keegan a stare down. “I want to know what happened.”  
            Keegan went blank again, falling into an ‘at ease’ stance despite whatever she did to her foot. “You’re not our CO anymore.”  
            Max surged to her feet, surprised and almost outraged at this complete flip in Keegan’s behavior.  
Alec, however, just shook his head sadly. “You’re wrong. I’m second in command of TC.” Keegan cursed under her breath. Alec smiled. “Now, what did Felix order you not to tell me?”  
            Keegan answered his question with a question, “Why did we become ‘R’s in the first place?”  
            All this had to mean something to the two of them, because Alec paled, and glanced back at Max with a look of worry before asking, “The rest of them?”  
            “Message to Felix. Not all, just Devon and his…female.”  
            “Wait, your own  _unit_  did this to you?” Max exclaimed, shocked.  
            Alec hung his head. “The X5Rs were created because of the escape you and your brothers and sisters pulled. Every day we were shown pictures of you and yours, trained you guys were betrayers and every other word in the thesaurus for that…” He sat on the edge of the bed, sighing. “When Kavi was recaptured and assigned to our unit, most of us had to deal with the fact that you guys were just like us. Devon didn’t. Sam, Lane and Bradee didn’t. But, hey, Sam was  _your_  twin and isn’t here, and Lane took a cyanide pill rather than be captured for the assassination of Pope Leo. Two out of the initial four I figured would see the error of their ways.”  
            “Felix thought so too.” Keegan said sadly. “Clearly, Devon hasn’t gotten the message.”  
            Max heaved a great sigh. “Bringing all of us together really isn’t going to be any small feat, is it?”  
            Alec shrugged, now pulling on his jeans. “If it was just those two, Felix would have put the fear of Sandman in them, that’s sure. I’m going to go and double check, though. Max, do you think-”  
            She leaned across the bed, pressing a kiss to his lips before he could finish. “Sure.” She then turned her attention to Keegan, gesturing for the other female to head towards the bathroom. “Let me get you cleaned up. I just gotta throw some clothes on first.”   
            Alec caught Keegan’s arm as she headed towards the bathroom, causing her to look up at him in alarm. “Why did Felix send you over here,  _really_?”  
            She bit her lip, looking for all the world like she didn’t want to answer. “Felix’s worried Devon’s not gonna get the message. He already tried to intimidate Max; Felix plays it cautious when it comes to people, you know that.” She gave him a sheepish grin. “Plus, I didn’t know  _you_  were going to be here.”  
            The first true smile she had seen from her former CO in  _years_  spread across his face. “And I’m gonna be here for a long while yet. I’m gonna go help Felix  _punch_  the message in a little deeper.”  
            Keegan returned the smile. “You’re going to be so whipped. Congrats.”  
            Alec smirked, shaking his head, and pulled on his jacket before heading out of the apartment.


	8. Chapter 8

            Alec found his way to Felix with more ease then he would have thought, given the situation; for one thing, if  _he_  had the audacity to jump his CO’s mate,  _he_  wouldn’t have stuck around the same area, leaving a very noticeable scent trail. And knowing Felix’s nose, he would have made sure to use every scent blocker in the book. Obviously, Devon and Bradee weren’t operating on full thrusters here.  
            With a sickening thud, the red head—Bradee—came flying out of the alley behind headquarters, slamming into the brick wall across from Alec. He raised his eyebrows, bending slightly to peer around the corner into the alleyway. Felix was crouched down, circling Devon with fangs bared, a perpetual snarl rumbling from his chest. Devon was making mock rushes towards Felix, smirking in a half-crazed sort of way.  
            Alec felt a nasty smile cover his own features; you had to be crazy if you were taking on Felix after fucking with his mate. Out of the corner of his eye, he caught a flash of red, and saw the red-head charge at Felix, obviously having shaken off the wall-hit. Alec took two steps forward, dropping his weight into  _shiko-datchi_ —horse stance—and letting himself go loose. Bradee slammed into him, ricocheting backwards and bouncing into the wall again. He felt an odd satisfaction hearing her skull hit the brick, leaving her dazed, and then leaned against the mouth of the alley, waiting until Felix needed him.  
            But judging by the way Devon had paled at the sound of Bradee’s second slam into the wall, Felix wasn’t going to need it. In fact, in the split-second that Devon had taken to glance in Bradee’s direction, Felix had him  _down_.   
            Alec casually stepped into the alley, keeping his face neutral despite the yelps of pain from Devon, who was cradling a broken arm against his chest, curled into the fetal position on the dirty ground. He turned his attention to Felix, giving him a once over. “They double team you, too?”  
            “Tried.” Felix grunted, wiping a smear of blood off his cheek. “Problem is, I’m you plus a _bear_. Strength wise, I win.”  
            “Looks like they still got a few hits on you though.”  
            Felix glanced down at his shirt, where it was torn and he was bleeding from what looked like a claw or knife wound. “Probably should have brought a weapon of my own to this party. Bastard didn’t fight fair.” He aimed a kick at Devon, who curled even more in on himself. “I should kill them for what they did to Keegan.”  
            “We don’t put our own down unless we got no choice.” Alec said, stepping between Devon and Felix. “Come on, Lix, you know that.”  
            Felix gave him a look, his expression mixed with sympathy and regret and rage, “He’s  _on_ something, Alec.”  
            Devon chose that moment to let out a high pitched giggle, “You’re defending the _human_?”  
            Alec felt no remorse sending another kick to his gut. “How did you figure?”  
            “He popped three pills before trying to tackle me. Gotta be more than tryptophan if he thought it would make his scrawny ass a match for me.” Felix frowned in the direction of Bradee. “I think she cracked her skull. I’m smellin’ a lot of blood.”  
            “Surprisingly, I really don’t think I care much.” But Alec moved off to check on her, keeping a wary eye on Felix and Devon.  
            Felix sank to his haunches, pawing through Devon’s pockets despite the other transgenic’s attempts to bat his hands away. “You keep doing that, I’ll break your other arm too.” A moment later, he stood back up, bottle in hand. “Alec, this  _says_  it’s tryptophan…but it’s also got a government label on it.”  
            Alec sighed. “Government drugs; guaranteed to produce paranoia, in fighting and delusions of grandeur. Tampered with?”  
            “You could probably bet your barcode.”  
            “ _Fuck._ ” Alec slid a hand over his face, frowning at the still form of Bradee. “You arrest him. I’ll get a med team over here.”  
            Felix smiled, grabbing Devon’s broken arm, and forcing it behind his back. “Well, seeing as we don’t have rights yet…”  
            “Felix.”  
            “X5R-472, you are to stand down and report to the brig until such time we can determine your guilt or innocence.” Felix said in monotone, making a face while forcing iron handcuffs onto Devon’s wrists. “And you slither out of these, I will kill you.”  
            Alec shook his head, trying not to laugh as he dialed headquarters and requested a med unit.  


***

  
            Max felt a lot of unexplained tension as she paced her apartment, having finished patching up Keegan (as much as the other female would let her) a full twenty minutes ago. She could feel Keegan watching her, too, despite being forcefully bundled up in a blanket and shoved onto the couch and told to nap. Max figured it had something to do with the pacing she was doing.  
            “I’m pretty sure you’re wearing a hole in the floor.” Keegan muttered, flinching as she attempted to extract an arm from the blanket.  
            Max sighed and cut her pace back short in order to untuck the side and free Keegan’s arm. “Shut up. You’re supposed to be resting.”  
            Keegan snorted. “Like I can do that suffocating in heat while there’s the pitter-patter of not so little feet clomping back in forth positively  _oozing_  tension.” She rolled her eyes. “You need to zen out. Alec will be  _fine_.”  
            The second she said his name, Max felt the tension pop in her back, like an overfilled balloon. She sank into her reclining chair, sighing. “He’s not back yet.”  
            “Felix probably killed one of them.” She said it far too calmly for Max’s taste. “Oh come on, look how you’re reacting to him not being back yet. How would you feel if someone did  _this_  to him?” She asked, gesturing to herself.  
            Max’s first instinct was to deny it, but after dealing with the defacto leaders of the X5Rs for the past few days, she had learned to actually  _listen_  when they spoke. It took her a second, but she imagined finding Alec in the same position as Keegan. A red rage filled her, and she felt like she had to physically restrain herself from surging out of the chair. “I _would_ …” She whispered, opening her eyes. “Oh my god…” Keegan just nodded. They sat like that for a long moment.  
            After what felt like hours, Keegan suddenly looked towards the door, and a second later, Max could swear she scented Alec…The door handle jiggled as someone attempted to open it. Max was already there, pulling it open and glaring at Alec, a thousand reprimands about his lateness dying on her tongue.  
            His face—as grim as it was—lightened the moment he saw her. “Maxie.” He pulled her into a hug, barely stepping to the side to allow Felix to step through the small doorway. Max almost didn’t care; Alec’s arms were around her, and she could bury her nose in the crook of his neck and ignore the world. However, the constant low rumble of his voice was pulling her out of her happy bubble, and she focused on his words; “Lab said they’d call with the results, but Luke said the sample was definitely contaminated with something that wasn’t tryptophan.”  
            Max felt her body go cold even as she clung tighter to Alec. “What happened out there?” She asked, almost afraid of the answer.  
            Felix favored her with a small smile that looked more pained then friendly with the smeared blood still painted across his face. “Well, we can rule out our usual paranoia. Devon was drugged. I’m kinda surprised this is the first time it’s happened.”  
            He hugged Keegan close to him, moving gingerly as to avoid hurting her any further. Keegan, however, looked the grimmest of all of them. “I hate to be the downer here, but, if they know what we need—and I’m not talking need like Alec might need cable, but like a diabetic  _needs_  insulin—then we’ve got to start screening the general tryptophan supply immediately. And we may not be able to stop our people from buying their own, but we need to make sure they’re aware,  _informed_.”  
            Max frowned. “What could do that? Seriously, what could make an X lose it like that?”  
            None of them answered, but by the uncomfortable looks on all of their faces, it was just a matter of waiting to see  _which_ , not what. “I think starting our own little country is going to have repercussions that no one thought about.” Alec said, squeezing Max’s hand in his own. “And let’s face it, there are people out there who know a whole lot more about our own biology then we do. They could fuck with us before we knew what was going on.”  
            “We’ve just settled for general paranoia before, you know, not trusting anyone not of your own species...” Felix chimed in. “But you seemed to miss that lesson.”  
            Keegan made a half-hearted swat at him. “Hey, it worked when it was just our unit. There’s a lot more of us now. General paranoia will make us Turkmenistan, and we all know what happened there.” The three of them gave a general shudder, making Max feel a little left out.  
            But Max shook it off, and took comfort from the warm weight of Alec’s hand in hers. He was a rock mooring her in this sea of confusion. “With this Devon thing, tell me everything. We need to get this out to our people; Keegan’s got a point there. And I’m gonna need help getting to the bottom of this.”  
            These were her people. This was her country. If she was their bridge to humanity, the one of them who could walk in both worlds; human and animal, military and civilian, then she had her work cut out.   
            Because obviously, no one else was going to give them a chance.  
  
 **The End...**  
To Be Continued in **X5Revised**  series shorts


End file.
